MTSU students walked door-to-door to share details of class action lawsuit against Rutherford County
Aiyana Gallant encountered a range of emotions this semester as she canvased a neighborhood off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, flyers in hand, to inform residents about the Oct. 29 deadline to join a class action lawsuit against Rutherford County.
One family told Gallant about a son who was always in front of Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport, and believed he did not get a fair shot in the justice system.
Some families learned about the $11 million settlement — monetary retribution for the county’s history of illegally arresting and jailing minors — through media reports, but were unaware they could join the settlement.
Over time, some families shared stories; potential abuses of power by the local government, some of which date back more than three decades. Trauma that impacted a large number of people of color.
"There’s a lot of people in that neighborhood dealing with this on a daily basis," said Gallant, 21, a pre-law student and military science minor at Middle Tennessee State University.
"Out of the 20 houses (where we talked to residents), at least a quarter of them have dealt with (wrongful incarceration) in the past or are dealing with it now."
Some residents, though, chose not to dredge up these painful memories. One family slammed a door on faces of students in Gallant’s political sciences class at MTSU.
Kyle Mothershead, a Nashville-based attorney working with plaintiffs, estimated around 200 people filed a total of 300 claims for settlements by last Friday’s deadline. The claims were worth $1,000 per illegal arrest and $4,800 for each illegal incarceration.
The final numbers are significantly lower than the 1,450 people who were believed to be eligible. The estimation does not include the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who were illegally arrested or jailed on minor (fighting to truancy) or made-up charges, but their incidents occurred on the wrong side of the statute of limitations.
"Tennessee law strictly prohibits the pretrial incarceration of children" unless the youth are "being charged with a violent felony, a weapons offense, or a probation violation," stated the class-action lawsuit filed in July 2017.
The settlement agreement was reached in June.
'Such a lack of humanity': Pastor, NAACP condemn Rutherford County's decades of illegal youth arrests, jailing
Where are they now: Parents and police involved in Rutherford County's illegal arrests and incarceration of minors
'More aggressive public intervention'
April 2016: Multiple arrests of students at Hobgood Elementary — and homes of at least three children attending two other schools — garnered national media attention and local outcry. Yet for many who hailed from Rutherford County’s African American community, it showcased something many already knew: The juvenile justice system relied more on fake laws than vetted policies.
These policies were enforced years before the Hobgood arrests, leading to the mistreatment of waves of residents and visitors, according to attorneys and local activists.
Fast forward to 2021. Gallant was one of 10 students to enroll this fall in Sekou Franklin’s political science class at MTSU, unaware of this hands-on class project. Franklin planned the class project after Mothershead asked the professor for help with spreading the word about the case, from walking through neighborhoods to searching through social media platforms.
"There needs to be more aggressive public intervention," said Franklin, a former president of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists.
In addition to Franklin's class project, students at Vanderbilt University in Nashville also helped track down people eligible to file a claim, Mothershead said.
'Making a difference'
Tanner Hawkins, a senior at MTSU, said participating in the class project allowed him, a white student, to better understand deeply-rooted troubles some African American families endure with law enforcement.
A graduate of Cascade High in Bedford County, Hawkins is majoring in political science and minoring in history and education. His career goal is to be a high school history teacher.
Hawkins hopes eligible families he met filed claims.
"I felt like I was making a difference," said Hawkins, who canvassed neighborhoods with Gallant.
A product of a Middle Tennessee school system, Gallant was surprised to discover children were wrongfully arrested and imprisoned in the county she's lived in for a decade. Gallant realized impacted children, some of which are now adults, are forced to live with these experiences, as well as the psychological damage caused by the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center and juvenile court system.
"It definitely opened my eyes to a bigger picture," Gallant said.
"Not only are they having to deal with their son (or daughter) being incarcerated after being wrongfully accused, but dealing with court fees, lawyer fees and all those additions that make it harder on the family."
Contact reporter Scott Broden with Rutherford County-related news tips at sbroden@dnj.com or via phone at 615-278-5158. Follow him on Twitter @ScottBroden. Craig Shoup can be reached at cshoup@gannett.com.
Oct. 29 marked deadline to film claim
About 200 people filed a total of 300 claims for settlements by last Friday’s deadline, Kyle Mothershead, a Nashville-based attorney working with plaintiffs.
$1,000 per illegal arrest
$4,800 for each illegal incarceration
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU students search for minors arrested and jailed in Rutherford County
