Mosby sat down with the men Friday and apologized, informing them that they would be freed.
"I don't think that today is a victory, it's a tragedy. And we need to own up to our responsibility for it," Mosby said. "There's no way we can repair the damage to these men, when 36 years of their life were stolen from them."
"You were all arrested on Thanksgiving 1983. Now you are free to spend the holidays with your loved ones for the first time in 36 years," Mosby said in a press conference.
Mosby added that Maryland currently has no formal system of compensation for those falsely convicted of a crime.
Now, she plans to advocate for laws that would establish a system of compensation for those falsely convicted, and formally require minors to have a parent in the room while being questioned by police. She has started Resurrection After Exoneration, which will offer medical help and guidance as exonerated people reintegrate to society.
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Lawyers for Chestnut and Stewart said they planned to spend Thanksgiving with their respective families. Watkins's mother died before his arrest and most of his immediate family died while he was incarcerated. His lawyer said he would be spending Thanksgiving with loved ones.
Chestnut plans on spending quiet time readjusting to life with his family and fiancé.
"It's a lot of guys that I left behind, that are in the same situation that I'm in," Chestnut said. "They need a voice. I had an opportunity, by the grace of God, to have someone who heard me."
