Hi. I’m Mark Downton, “the other lawyer” discussed in The Kids of Rutherford County, the very popular podcast produced by Serial and the New York Times describing decades of illegalities that affected thousands of youth who flowed through the Juvenile Justice system in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

I hope the podcast is successful and that listeners leave with broad empathy for youth in the juvenile justice system as real human beings. I hope lawyers who listen leave knowing that we can help by taking action and demanding change. I hope everyone understands that we did not “fix” the system, we forced baby steps at best. However, the podcast is more “based on a true story” like a Hollywood movie than a reflection of what actually happened in the legal cases. This website seeks to clarify and correct inaccuracies from the podcast and provide additional context and background to the events described therein.

Key Misperceptions Corrected: (All of these are discussed in more detail in Articles in the upper left.)

* I was not a deadbeat juvenile lawyer when I met Wesley Clark in 2014. I had an active and successful federal court litigation practice and had recently won a $10 Million False Claims Act case. I had been sober for 5 years.

* The solitary confinement case did not happen as the podcast describes. Wesley Clark was the catalyst for the case and helped in the beginning. The ACLU was involved. When it looked like we would lose and had lost an important early battle, I stuck with it and dug through thousands of pages of documents to find evidence to eventually win the case after several (not one) years, but the battle is not over.

* In addition to the strange characterization of me in the podcast, several other players are misrepresented and I describe the Important People with more accuracy.

Purpose of this page:

I am told that “narrative framing” is necessary to attract and keep listeners. What this actually means, however, is that the producers of the podcast (The New York Times and Serial) decided to change the story to make it more exciting to an audience of millions. Unfortunately, that story is not exactly what happened. The true story is also compelling.

The story of an ambitious, energetic and idealistic young lawyer almost single-handedly toppling a system is riveting, but it is not and, frankly, could not be true. In my view, the true story is more compelling because it is real and reflects deeper values that align with what would be required to truly affect systemic change. The true story is one of mentorship, courage, collaboration, persistence and tons of hard work. What we did in Rutherford County was not magic. Youthful zeal alone could not have done it.

In this site, I have highlighted some misperceptions I believe people may have after listening to the podcast. I hope this site can help tell the true story and add context. I personally spoke to over a thousand young people directly impacted by Rutherford County’s illegal policies. After listening to the podcast and hearing my own words shifted around, I am concerned the same may happen to some of the actual youth who lived through a nightmare. I invite them to tell their stories here by emailing me (contact link above). I will not edit them but will instead create separate entries for each as your unvarnished truth. Your reality matters.

You can find my reactions to several elements of the podcast in the articles I have written. Some are featured below, all are listed in the link at the top left. In those articles, I give try to add background, context and perspective. I hope my writing does not come across as self-aggrandizement or reactively defensive. Instead, I hope I can bring a different kind of heart and opportunity for reflection on these events and the people who lived through them.