A fight among children caught on video led to the arrest of eleven Black students, charged for not stopping the fight. Kids as young as 8 were cuffed and booked into jail, even though Tennessee law says juveniles can’t be detained for minor infractions. Two attorneys were shocked to learn that over a decade officials in Rutherford County arrested hundreds of children for small violations and left them in jail cells for days. The police, the prosecutors, and the detention center all ignored the case law for one reason: the juvenile court judge told them to.

From Serial Productions and The New York Times comes “The Kids of Rutherford County.” Host Meribah Knight looks at a massive civil rights violation, reveals how it came to be, and follows the two juvenile delinquents-turned-lawyers who try to do something about it.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "THE KIDS OF RUTHERFORD COUNTY" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: faked Alaska.

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

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