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
Meribah Knight
1,931 posts
Reporter with Nashville Public Radio. Story finder. Storyteller. Cat lady.
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and @propublicaNow, 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
- Replying to @meribahI 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
- Replying to @meribahIt 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
- Five days after my @WPLN and @propublica investigation with @bykenarmstrong was published comes a bit of impact.
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 othersAnd 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
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 othersThe 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
- 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
- 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.
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 othersIt 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
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 othersHow 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
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 othersListen 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
- Replying to @meribah @bykenarmstrong and 3 othersI 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
- 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


