I read this book and had to take a few as it affected me just that much. I only realized I did not submit a review. To be fair, and with all going on in the world today, I went back and re-read this book. Yes, the book is based on a case from the 70's in Ohio, but it can be present day, anywhere America. Gripping, intense and makes one wonder" When will we learn"? Kudos to the author for this book. A must read. Highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on my review.

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 Wiley Bridgeman were good kids. Cleveland, Ohio, a bad city, known for it’s corruption and crime. Cleveland’s racism was in part caused by extreme segregation, resulting in more racism and a government that protected white communities. This served well in the white neighborhoods, but devastated the black sections. When a salesman was robbed and murdered, three young men were nowhere near the crime, but were arrested in order to close the crime.

In 1975, these three boys were convicted in spite of conflicting witness testimony primarily on the evidence of a 12 year old boy, who wanted to be “helpful” to the police. Sentenced to death, they were reprieved when the Court determined Ohio’s system of sentencing was unconstitutional.

It took thirty nine years for the young boy, now in his 50’s to recant his “eye witness report”.

Good Kids, Bad City makes any reader sickened when the realization occurs that these boys did more time than any other people who were eventually exonerated. It brings to the surface how the systematic racism that is our Justice system, does much injustice to communities of color. I am still angry how long it took the twelve year old witness to come forward to exonerated these young men. So many lives wasted.

Every white person who thinks racism is dead in the US should be forced to read this book, among others that accurately describe how there are two separate justice systems, one for whites, and the second, and much more severe, for people of color. Shame on all of us!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for a free ebook in exchange for an honest review. #GoodKidsBadCity

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.

This book was hard to read, not because it was bad but because it is so hard to believe that things such as these stories told in this book are ones that are still happening in the world today.

This book tells the story of a man who ended up in jail for a crime that he didn't commit and the stories behind the city, the people, and the reasons why it happened and why it took almost 40 years for him to be release.

Swenson does a great job of making the facts and figures in the book read interestingly and fast where it could get bogged down in the details. I wanted to know where the people would end up and ended up reading this book quite quickly.

This book sheds light on some from very important subjects in the world today and I would encourage everyone to read it and learn more about how race and racism impacts policing and convictions.

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

I found the story very interesting and believe that a huge miscarriage of justice took place. This is a very detailed story and gives you all the information you need to make a sound decision on the case in question. This story really opens your eyes to the fact that absolute proof should be needed before anyone can be convicted...it should never rely on eyewitness testimony. This is a great read for anyone interested in true crime and the justice system.

I gave it my best shot. Too much info and I felt like I was sitting on a very, very, very long jury trial.... I am sure folks interested in true crime stories will find this book very interesting, it is loaded with info, and I am sure it was an incredible case, but, I really could not finish the book. Sorry. Not for me.

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 were all three charged and sentenced to a total of 106 yrs for all three together. They were convicted based on eye witness testimony from a young man who later recanted his testimony. At that time the three were released and now because of time and lack of forensic evidence, they probably will never know who the killer actually was. I felt like the uthor was trying to get all of the information out there but not so much trying to sway the reader in one way or another. This could actually be made easily into a documentary or even a movie. Our justice system was flawed then and it is flawed now. This is another example of such. I hope that this writer continues to write especially about situations like this.

Thanks to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for my honest review.

5 stars ⭐️ out of 5