Life in prison was the verdict for teenagers Ransom Watkins, Andrew Stewart and Alfred Chestnut in 1983 when they were wrongfully intimidated and interrogated by police and sentenced for a crime they did not commit. The three were eventually exonerated, but were effectively robbed of 36 years of life, in addition to the ever-present trauma that comes with incarceration. A devastating reminder of the issues within our legal justice system, and why children's rights must be protected.

Defending the rights of children shouldn't be optional, and yet every day in Maryland, children entangled in the legal justice system were questioned without a parent, guardian, or attorney present. Which is why in 2022, the ACLU of Maryland and our partners successfully passed the Child Interrogation Protection Act which requires an attorney be consulted before a child is interrogated by law enforcement.

On this episode you'll hear from Ransom Watkins of the Exonerated Harlem Park Three about his life, legacy, and how the man in him still struggles with the brutality the child in him has endured.

A full transcript of this episode is available at: aclu-md.org/en/publications/no-one-was-protecting-us-ransom-watkins-exonerated-harlem-park-3

Learn more about defending children's rights at: aclu-md.org/en/issues/civil-rights/childrens-rights