The Harlem Park Three
In 1983, three young men from the Harlem Park neighborhood of Baltimore were convicted of murdering DeWitt Duckett, a 14-year-old student at Harlem Park Junior High School. Andrew Stewart was one of them. He was convicted based on testimony from witnesses who would later recant, in a case that was plagued by misconduct and procedural failures. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Andrew was a teenager when it happened. He wouldn't see the outside of a prison wall for 36 years.
What He Built Inside
Some people survive prison. Andrew Stewart did something rarer. He built a life inside it.
Over three and a half decades, Andrew became known as the man who taught Bible classes. Not occasionally. Consistently, faithfully, week after week, year after year. He became a mentor to younger inmates. He led prayer groups. He became the person other prisoners went to when they were falling apart.
He did all of this while maintaining his innocence. While filing appeals that went nowhere. While watching decades disappear behind him. The combination of those two realities, fighting for justice while serving with joy, is almost impossible to hold together. Andrew held it.
Exonerated
In November 2019, after years of investigation by the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and the Conviction Integrity Unit of the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office, the convictions of all three men were vacated. The evidence was clear: the original witness identifications were unreliable, and critical evidence had been withheld from the defense.
Andrew Stewart walked out of prison at age 53. When reporters asked him how he felt, he didn't give a speech about the injustice of the system. He said: "I just thank God."
Four words. Thirty-six years compressed into four words.
What This Means for You
Andrew's story asks a hard question: what would you build if you were stuck somewhere you didn't belong? Most of us would focus entirely on getting out. Andrew focused on serving where he was. He taught the Bible in a place where the Bible's promises seemed impossible. And when freedom finally came, he wasn't bitter. He was grateful. That's not a natural response. That's a supernatural one. If you're in a season that feels unjust, Andrew's example doesn't minimize your pain. It shows you that purpose doesn't require the right circumstances. It only requires the right God.