For over a decade, one Tennessee county arrested and illegally jailed hundreds, maybe thousands, of children. A four-part narrative series reveals how this came to be, the adults responsible for it, and the two lawyers, former juvenile delinquents themselves, who try to do something about it. From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is reported and hosted by Meribah Knight, a Peabody-award winning reporter based in the South. Get it everywhere you get your podcasts on Thursday, October 26th.
Do you remember what year it was that you were.
You were arrested and jailed?
I was so young that I don't even remember what.
What was going on in that time.
Yeah, right.
And so you were.
How old were you?
Seven.
Oh, my God.
When Brandon was just seven years old, police showed up at his door to arrest him.
Brandon's offense, tagging along with his older brothers, who'd wrestled in a vacant duplex and left some holes in the drywall.
Now police were there to take Brandon and his brothers to the juvenile detention center jail.
Basically, my mom said that they weren't going to take me in, but they were like, well, he needs to learn his lesson.
Brandon was held in detention overnight and then brought to the juvenile court for his hearing.
They had me in shackles from our feet to our arms going into court.
Brandon should have gone home with his mom that day, but when he went before the judge, she sent him back to jail for a week.
Brandon's arrest and detention happened in Rutherford County, Tennessee.
And his case wasn't unique there.
For over a decade, the county was arresting and jailing kids for even the most minor offenses.
I didn't want to go to school.