We are happy to share that the HBO documentary When a Witness Recants premieres today at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Dawn Porter directed the film. It features author Ta-Nehisi Coates. New Yorker journalist Jennifer Gonnerman wrote the article that inspired the film’s approach. The film chronicles the remarkable story of the Harlem Park Three—Alfred Chestnut, Andrew Stewart, and Ransom Watkins—whose journey from wrongful conviction to vindication unmasks some of the many failures of the criminal legal system. Kobie Flowers led the legal team that secured a historic $48 million settlement for the Harlem Park Three—the largest settlement for a wrongful conviction case in U.S. history. After being wrongfully convicted in 1984 at age 16 of the murder of 14-year-old DeWitt Duckett at Baltimore’s Harlem Park Junior High School, Alfred, Andrew, and Ransom each spent 36 years behind bars—a combined 108 years, representing the longest combined wrongful conviction term in U.S. history. The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project worked with the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office to exonerate the Harlem Park Three in November 2019. A reinvestigation revealed that Baltimore Police detectives had coerced witnesses and fabricated evidence. After additional legal and factual investigation conducted by Kobie and his team, the Harlem Park Three sued the Baltimore Police Department in August 2020. In October 2023, Baltimore paid the record-breaking settlement, acknowledging the profound injustice these three men continue to suffer.
This HBO documentary represents the full story that the Harlem Park Three waited to tell. They could have shared their complete story in November 2019, August 2020, or October 2023. Instead, they chose to wait—to tell their story when and how they wanted, on their own terms, with the world watching.
Kobie is honored that Alfred, Andrew, and Ransom trusted him with protecting, litigating, and now telling their story alongside them. Their patience, their resilience, and their commitment to truth and justice inspire us all to end Mass Incarceration.
Mass Incarceration started in 1972. America’s addiction to Mass Incarceration played a key role in the conviction of the Harlem Park Three. As of January 27, 2026, there have been, at least, 3,774 wrongful convictions. The U.S. is now in its 54th year of Mass Incarceration and
. If the U.S. criminal legal system focused on solving and reducing crime, then Mass Incarceration would end; there would be no Harlem Park Three—no documentary.
This documentary ensures that the collective voice of the Harlem Park Three will be heard. Their experience will add to the decadeslong conversation about ending Mass Incarceration and the centuries-long debate about ending the criminal legal system as we know it.
When a Witness Recants premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET, and will be available on HBO following its Sundance world premiere.