Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart 

On November 25, 2019, CIU exonerated Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart, who were jailed for 36 years for a crime they didn’t commit. The three men were arrested on Thanksgiving Day in 1983 and convicted for the murder of a 14-year-old Baltimore teenager.

Applying to the BCSAO Conviction Integrity Program (CIP)

To submit an application in consideration of the CIP, the following basic criteria must apply:

• The conviction must have occurred in Baltimore City; and
• There must be a claim of factual innocence.

The CIP does not review non-innocence related claims, i.e. procedural trial errors.

In order to submit your claim, please complete a CIP Application Form and send via email or regular mail, including:

• Defendant’s name
• Case Number
• Specific claim of innocence, i.e. alibi witness, new forensics evidence, mistaken identification
• Provide any other relevant information that assists the CIP with investigating your claim

Claims can be submitted via email to: CIP@stattorney.org

Claims can be submitted via regular mail to:

Conviction Integrity Program
Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office
120 East Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

SAO Learns from the Wrongful Conviction of Malcolm Bryant

The SAO partnered with the University of Pennsylvania Law School’s Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice, the University of Baltimore Innocence Project Clinic and other partners to release a root cause analysis report, also known as the Baltimore Event Review Team (BERT) report. The report examines the case of Malcolm J. Bryant who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1999 and provides recommendations on how the criminal justice system can decrease the occurrence of wrongful convictions. The report also specifically focuses on various components of the investigative, trial, and post-conviction phases of Bryant’s case. Recommendations included best practices for investigating and charging single witness identification cases, sharing discovery and evidence between the SAO and BPD, and developing an objective team within the SAO to review claims of innocence.

Clarence Shipley

In December 2018, CIU collaborated with the University of Baltimore Innocence Project clinic exonerated Clarence Shipley after serving 27 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Mr. Shipley was wrongfully convicted for the murder of Kevin Smith in 1991.