When True Crime meets Police Brutality
They Killed Freddie Gray exposes a conspiracy among Baltimore leaders to cover up what actually happened to Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured in police custody in April 2015. After Gray's death, Baltimore became ground zero for Black Lives Matter and racial justice protests that exploded across the country. State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby became a hero when she charged six officers in Gray's death, and the trials of the officers generated national headlines for two years.
Yet the cause of Gray's death has remained a mystery. A viral video showed an officer leaning on Gray's back while he cried out in pain. But the autopsy concluded he was fatally injured later that morning while the van was in motion--during a multi-stop "rough ride"--from sudden impact to his head. None of the officers were convicted of any crimes based on this theory.
They Killed Freddie Gray solves the mystery of Gray's death by uncovering new evidence of how he was killed by police and how his cause of death was covered up. In coordination with a documentary film now being produced, this book revisits a pivotal moment in US criminal justice history, providing new insight into what happened, the historical structures of power that allowed it to happen, and the personalities and dynamics involved--a story never told by the mainstream media. It includes a detailed map with annotations by the author, photographs, and a foreword by Rabia Chaudry.
Justine Barron is an investigative journalist whose work focuses on crime, corruption, and media criticism, with a special emphasis on Baltimore. She is also an acclaimed storyteller and four-time winner of the Moth storytelling competition. Her work has appeared in the Appeal, Rolling Stone, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Real News, Jewish Journal, NPR-WLRN, Miami Herald, and numerous local independent outlets in Baltimore. In 2017, she co-investigated and co-hosted Undisclosed: The Killing of Freddie Gray. In 2021, she was honored with a Best of Baltimore Award for her work by Baltimore Magazine. Justine grew up in Maryland and attended Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English. She holds a master’s degree in English Literature from Duke University. She now lives in Miami, Florida.
Wesley Lowery is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and a national correspondent for CBS News and 60 Minutes. Previously, he was a national correspondent for the Washington Post and the paper's lead reporter covering race, justice, law enforcement, and the Black Lives Matter protest movement. His work has also appeared in the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Sports Illustrated. His first book, the New York Times bestseller They Can't Kill Us All, was awarded the 2017 Christopher Isherwood prize for Autobiographical Prose by the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. Lowery, who also has been named one of Forbes's "30 Under 30" and an Emerging Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists, lives in the Washington, DC area.
The conversation will be moderated by Chuck Modiano, a journalist, educator and sports columnist. He has been a contributing author to “Killing Trayvons”, "Football Culture and Power”; sports columnist including Deadspin, and the NY Daily News; and is a currently Co-host for “The Collision: Where Sports & Politics Collide” on WPFW Radio in DC.”
This event is free with first come, first served seating.
