Good Kids, Bad City, Kyle Swenson
Good Kids, Bad City, Kyle Swenson
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Good Kids, Bad City
A Story of Race and Wrongful Conviction in America

Author: Kyle Swenson

Narrator: J. D. Jackson

Unabridged: 11 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/12/2019

Synopsis

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 prosecutions case, which resulted in a combined 106 years in prison for the three men, rested on the more-than-questionable testimony of a pre-teen, Ed Vernon. 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 historys 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 Clevelands 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.

About Kyle Swenson

Kyle Swenson is an American journalist and author who received his bachelor's degree in English language and literature from Kenyon College. A staff writer at The Washington Post and the author of Good Kids, Bad City: A Story of Race and Wrongful Conviction in America, he currently resides in Washington D.C.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carin on February 04, 2019

A few years ago my youngest sister moved to Cleveland, which many people find a surprising move. It has a thriving foodie scene, a world-class art museum (where she works), and of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. However, since The Drew Carey Show, its only media hits tend to be about crime.......more

Goodreads review by Laura on August 23, 2018

This story is wonderfully written and shares a great deal of information to the reader. You have enough evidence to make your case and have your own opinion. My opinion is innocent. In 1970’s 3 black men were accused of robbing and killing a man outside of a convenience store in Cleveland Ohio. They......more

Goodreads review by Tonstant on November 20, 2018

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......more

Goodreads review by Brandt on March 09, 2019

Okay full disclosure here--this book is about something that happened in Cleveland, Ohio a few months before I was born. I have been a life-long resident of Northeast Ohio except for the six years I spent in Northwest Ohio (as a student at Bowling Green State University) and I have been a resident o......more

Goodreads review by Karen on April 11, 2019

Good Kids, Bad City is another in an unfortunate series of books that address race and incarceration in this racially divided United States. This is an extremely well researched book that addresses the history of racial uprisings based ,this time, in Cleveland, Ohio. Ricky Jackson and Ronnie and Wil......more

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