Meribah Knight (@meribah) / X

Meribah Knight

1,931 posts

Meribah Knight

@meribah

Reporter with Nashville Public Radio. Story finder. Storyteller. Cat lady.

Nashville, TN

Joined February 2009

Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
For over a decade, Rutherford County, Tenn. was arresting and jailing kids for even the most minor offenses. A boy accused of stealing a football jersey–jailed A girl accused of pulling someone’s hair–jailed A girl trying to use a blank check at a school book fair–jailed 🧵1/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and @propublica
Now, two years later, the first two episodes of my new @serial podcast “The Kids of Rutherford County”, is in the world. It’s a collab with @propublica and @WPLN. open.spotify.com/show/4SwSDvOGc… It’s the story of how a system that routinely violated children’s rights came to be. 5/11
open.spotify.com
The Kids of Rutherford County
Podcast · Serial Productions & The New York Times · From Serial Productions and The New York Times in partnership with ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio, “The Kids of Rutherford County” is...
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah
I spoke to more than two dozen of these kids–many now adults. “I didn’t want to go to school.” “I just ran away.” “I spray painted a penis on a wall!” They all ended up in jail. Forced to shower in front of a guard. Given a jumpsuit. And sent to a cell, alone. 2/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah
It happened so often, to so many kids, that getting sent to juvenile detention there was almost a rite of passage. In many cases, it was also…illegal. 3/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 13, 2021
Five days after my @WPLN and @propublica investigation with @bykenarmstrong was published comes a bit of impact.
Outrage Grows Over Jailing of Children as Tennessee University Cuts Ties With Judge Involved
From propublica.org
Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 others
And if you want to read more about what I learned on my journey reporting on the juvenile justice system in TN, please read this personal essay for @propublica and @WPLN propublica.org/article/the-ki… 10/11
Secrecy Shields Powerful Adults in Our Juvenile Justice Systems. Kids Showed Me What’s Really...
From propublica.org
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 others
The world at large first caught a glimpse of this system in April 2016, when 11 Black elementary school children were arrested in Rutherford County. The reason? They didn’t stop a fight between some other kids. 7/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah
@bykenarmstrong and myself chronicled some of this story in our 2021 article with @ProPublica. propublica.org/article/black-… But there was so much more to tell. So, with Ken’s help, I kept going. 4/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Jan 11, 2024
I got curious so I asked for the receipt on those tickets @CSexton25 is requiring to sit in the west gallery of the house chamber. It cost $695 to order 3,057 tickets. According to this they were ordered on Jan 3, 2024.
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 others
It turned out that those arrests were the beginning of exposing what was happening in this county. Where an all-powerful judge and the jailer she appointed were playing by their own rules. 8/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 others
How it came to be normalized. Accepted. Lauded, even. It's also the story of two lawyers who did see the problem in Rutherford County. They just needed other people to see it, too. 6/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 others
Listen now to “The Kids of Rutherford County”. Which tells the whole story of this system, the adults in charge, the kids caught in the middle, and the people–two scrappy juvenile defense lawyers–who tried to fight back. From @serial in collaboration with @propublica @WPLN 9/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Oct 26, 2023
Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 others
I want to thank the people and families who spoke to me for this project. What they went through, and retelling it to me, was difficult to say the least. I am beyond grateful. A reporter is nothing without the sources willing to speak up and tell their story. 10/11
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Meribah Knight
@meribah
Dec 30, 2020
I can’t help but think about the immediate image of Hambrick’s alleged weapon, just minutes after he was shot. Here we are 5 days later and we finally hear there was a report flagging Warner making bombs in THE RV. @mendesbob