Trouble is easy to get into but hard to get out of, but if you’re not guilty of anything, the truth will set you free.’ But that won’t work in politics and the law.’
In 1975, Harry Franks, a money order deliverer, was heading to his last pick up spot in Cleveland when he was attacked, robbed, and murdered by two young Black men. Edward Vernon, a 12-year-old, near-sighted boy identified Ronnie Bridgeman his older brother Wiley, and his friend Rickey Jackson as the killers.
The three men had proof that they were somewhere else at the time, but that didn’t matter. Based solely on Vernon’s testimony, with help from the police, they were condemned to death.
After several attempts to clear their names, Ronnie contacted Kyle Swenson, a young reporter for a weekly Cleveland newspaper. He eventually got Ronnie in touch with Project Innocence.
It also tells the story of how Vernon’s entire life was affected as a result of his testimony.
Swenson followed the story even after he left Cleveland and landed a job for the Washington Post.
GOOD KIDS, BAD CITY is the story of the failures of the justice system for Blacks in Cleveland at that time explaining why so many of them distrust the police. It includes the history of racism in Cleveland. While the story has been repeated too many times about too many people, this book is well worth reading because it shows why the history of Blacks in the US is a story that has been generally ignored leaving white people to wonder why many Blacks are still angry. Possible answer: It is still happening. ( )

This story is so much more than how the lives of three innocent men are shattered by a lie; it's about the systems in place in Cleveland (although is this different than any large city?) that support and perpetuate racism throughout the community. Well-researched, well-written, and compelling at every level. ( )

This is the story of three African American men who were wrongly convicted of murder based on the testimony of a 12-year-old boy from their neighborhood, despite testimony to the contrary and lack of physical evidence pointing to their guilt. Sentenced to death but ultimately moved off death row after Ohio's death penalty was declared unconstitutional, they spent decades behind bars before one was released, and then moved heaven and earth to gain his brother's and childhood friend's release as well. This is a story of how such convictions can be obtained when police fail to do their job correctly but instead act illegally as well as aided and abetted by corrupt prosecutors. Even judges take part adding to the mix with sloppy and lazy judicial practices. Nothing can give these men back the years they lost or make up for what they endured in the prison system but money does help. However, it does not solve the real problem, looking at what caused their wrongful convictions and punishing those that took part in that effort. Until we as a nation start looking at those who do this, we will not move forward. This book makes a compelling argument for this to happen. ( )

Good kids, bad city is a beautifully written look into the murder convictions of three young black men. Sentenced to death in 1975 for the murder of a local, white store owner, Ricky Jackson, Ronnie Bridgeman, and Wiley Bridgeman were thrown away, products of a justice system that was not capable of judging minority defendants fairly. Good kids, bad city examines the case itself as well as the city of Cleveland and the factors that played into the convictions of the Bridgeman’s and Ricky Jackson. The story highlights truly shocking treatment of black community members back in the 1960’s-70’s. We want so hard to believe that the justice system is set up to weed out the innocent and ensure proper justice, but this novel highlights the reality from the expectation. A must read. ( )

Ricky Jackson and Ronnie and Wiley Bridgeman were good kids. Cleveland, Ohio, was a bad city, rife with crime and corruption, where racism was manifested in hypersegregation that resulted in a regional government that served and protected the white suburbs and hollowed out and devastated black urban neighborhoods. When a money order salesman was robbed and murdered, these three young men were nowhere near the crime, but that didn’t matter thanks to a twelve-year-old boy’s desire to be helpful and the police desire to arrest someone, anyone.

In 1975, these three men were convicted in spite of conflicting witness testimony primarily on the evidence of the young boy. They were sentenced to death, though reprieved when the Court determined Ohio’s sentencing system was unconstitutional. Thirty-nine years later they were finally exonerated when the young man, now in his fifties, finally recanted. He knew his testimony was false and that seemed a curse on his life, but still, it took a lot of pressure to get him to finally come clean.

Kyle Swenson brings the reporter’s attention to detail to chronicle the cultural and economic conditions of Cleveland, the effects of racism and corruption, the lack of accountability in police and prosecutors, as well as the stories of these three men, Ricky, Wiley, and Kwame Ajamu (neé Ronnie Bridgeman) in prison and seeking exoneration.

Good Kids, Bad City does a good job of reporting the systemic problems that led to this gross injustice, the men who were exonerated served more time than any other exonerees. I often think we avoid the systemic problems by focusing on bad actors, but he is more forgiving of Edward Vernon than I am. Certainly, a twelve-year-old bullied and threatened into false identifications can be forgiven, but what about when Wiley was paroled in 2001 and Vernon, too guilty to face him, intervenes to make him lose his place. Vernon may not have made Wiley violate parole by arguing with his parole officer, but he intervened to make his life harder. He wasn’t twelve then.

Otherwise, though, I think Good Kids, Bad City is an excellent example of an individual (or three individual) injustices that reveal wider systemic problems that urgently need redress. A grave injustice happened, but these three men, after nearly forty years, were finally exonerated. How many, I have to wonder, remain imprisoned, their justice dependent on the overburdened Innocence Projects in the various states and whether they can catch someone’s attention.

If you believe the United States has a fair system of justice, you will be shocked by the collusion of prosecution in police in convicting innocent men and by their continued intransigence in defending the actions of bad actors forty years ago. If you have been reading and studying the interplay of race and justice, you will recognize the same problems that occur over and over in so many stories.

Good Kids, Bad City will be published Feb 12, 2019. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Good Kids, Bad City at Macmillan | Picador
Kyle Swenson at The Washington Post

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2018/11/20/9781250120236/ ( )