Staff Pick
Kyle Swenson has not only profiled the men who suffered the longest wrongful conviction to end in exoneration in American history, he has also revealed the connection between an American city’s civic development and an epidemic of false justice and mass incarceration. Recommended By Keith M., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
From an award-winning investigative journalist--the dramatic story of the longest wrongful imprisonment in the United States to end in exoneration, and the city that convicted them
In the early 1970s, three African African American men--Wiley Bridgeman, Kwame Ajamu, and Ricky Jackson--were accused and convicted of the brutal robbery and murder of a man outside of a convenience store in Cleveland, Ohio. The prosecution's case, which resulted in a combined 106 years in prison for the three men, rested on the testimony of Ed Vernon, a preteen with questionable motives of his own.
The actual murderer was never found. Almost four decades later, Vernon recanted his testimony, and Wiley, Kwame, and Ricky were released. Theirs was the longest wrongful imprisonment to end in exoneration in American history, and in Good Kids, Bad City, investigative journalist Kyle Swenson tells their story, and that of the city that wrongfully convicted them, for the first time.
As Swenson writes, "A wrongful conviction is a complete collapse of the justice system. Police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, the press, the whole of the public apparatus we dub the city itself--all these carry the burden." Interweaving the dramatic details of the case with Cleveland's history--one that, to this day, is fraught with systemic discrimination and racial tension--Swenson reveals how this outrage occurred and why. Written in the tradition of Ghettoside and The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace, Good Kids, Bad City is a work of astonishing empathy and insight: an immersive exploration of race in America, the struggling Midwest, and how lost lives can be recovered.
Synopsis
From award-winning investigative journalist Kyle Swenson, Good Kids, Bad City is the true story of the longest wrongful imprisonment in the United States to end in exoneration, and a critical social and political history of Cleveland, the city that convicted them.
In the early 1970s, three African-American men--Wiley Bridgeman, Kwame Ajamu, and Rickey Jackson--were accused and convicted of the brutal robbery and murder of a man outside of a convenience store in Cleveland, Ohio. The prosecution's case, which resulted in a combined 106 years in prison for the three men, rested on the testimony of Ed Vernon, a legally blind preteen with questionable motives of his own.
The actual murderer was never found. Almost four decades later, Vernon recanted his testimony, and Wiley, Kwame, and Rickey were released. But while their exoneration may have ended one of American history's most disgraceful miscarriages of justice, the corruption and decay of the city responsible for their imprisonment remain on trial.
Interweaving the dramatic details of the case with Cleveland's history--one that, to this day, is fraught with systemic discrimination and racial tension--Swenson reveals how this outrage occurred and why. Good Kids, Bad City is a work of astonishing empathy and insight: an immersive exploration of race in America, the struggling Midwest, and how lost lives can be recovered.