Looking at crime through the eyes of the authorities is like diagnosing an illness by asking the doctor how he feels. You might learn enough to treat the obvious symptoms, but you’ll never understand the underlying disease.
John H. Richardson
The Gun King
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Format:
audiobook
Currently audio included on Kindle Unlimited
Publisher’s Synopsis:
When a middle-class kid from the suburbs was caught using Facebook to distribute firearms bought legally at Indiana gun shows to notorious gangsters across the border – was he a kingpin or a scapegoat?
David Lewisbey received perhaps the harshest sentence ever in a gun-trafficking trial. A college student from the suburban outskirts of Chicago, he allegedly embodied the enterprising swagger of his favorite rap lyrics, moving weapons for stacks of cash. John H. Richardson tours Chicago’s gun-soaked South Side with Lewisbey’s clientele and meets with the “Big Man” himself to unpack the truth.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
This is part of The Southside, a collection of shorts (around an hour in length) by The Marshall Project.
Obviously, as a short, Richardson isn’t able to fully examine the prosecution of David Lewisbey or the policies that lead to a first time offender receiving one of the harshest sentence for gun trafficking ever. One of the main points he makes, and well, is that there is a confluence of attitudes that make this a lucrative practice and that those who face the penalties are not actually the people who end lives with these weapons.
Juxtaposed with a “day in the life” ride along, we’re able to glimpse a great deal about the circumstances faced by Chicago residents in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country. The statistics shared and critical examination of laws, police focus, prosecution, and sentencing are invaluable in offering a perspective seldom shared in news soundbites and political posturing.
Narration:
I enjoyed Ron Butler’s narration. It’s non-fiction, but he still brought life to the story with unique voices and emotions for the quotes in addition to a smooth delivery of the main text.
About the author:
You can connect with John H. Richardson here:
About the narrator:
You can connect with Ron Butler here:
My Favorite Quotes
“Looking at crime through the eyes of the authorities is like diagnosing an illness by asking the doctor how he feels. You might learn enough to treat the obvious symptoms, but you’ll never understand the underlying disease.”
Rellim Reads 