Rehoboth Reads to host Kyle Swenson book signing May 1

Washington Post journalist Kyle Swenson will discuss and sign copies of his book “Good Kids, Bad City: A Story of Race and Wrongful Conviction” from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, May 1,  at the Rehoboth Beach Public Library. Copies of the book will be available for purchase the evening of the event or can be purchased in advance at Browseabout Books.

The event is being hosted by Rehoboth Reads, the project that involves the citywide reading and discussion of a single book. There is no charge, but attendees are encouraged to reserve a seat through the Rehoboth Reads website, www.rehobothreads.com.

“Good Kids, Bad City” is the true story of the longest wrongful imprisonment in the United States to end in exoneration. 

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 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 more-than-questionable testimony of a preteen, Ed Vernon. Almost 40 years later, Vernon recanted his testimony, and Bridgeman, Ajamu and Jackson were released. But while their exoneration may have ended one of American history’s most disgraceful miscarriages of justice, the corruption of the city responsible for their imprisonment remains on trial.

Swenson delves into the events of one case and tells the story of a city’s struggle against the larger forces of deindustrialization and corruption, while he provides insights into a flawed justice system. He interweaves the dramatic details of the case with Cleveland’s history – one that, to this day, is fraught with systemic discrimination and racial tension.

Rehoboth Beach Reads is under the auspices of the Rehoboth Beach Public Library.