The Hazel Boyz: The Trials of Four Innocent Men – A Book Review

In 1992, 940 people were murdered in the city of Chicago, more than any other year since. Chicago to this day has a reputation as a violent city and in the 90’s it was a it’s peak. On November 16th at 2043hrs Jeffrey Lassiter and Sharon Haugabook were murdered in the run down second floor apartment they rented. The death of the crack head Lassiter and his companion didn’t even merit a mention in the daily newspapers of the time. Just another senseless death in a city of 2.7 million in a time when the average was 2 to 3 murders a day.

That night forever changed the lives of 4 young men growing up in a hard neighborhood that was not forgiving. A place where gang life was the only real alternative for most young men. This night began a nightmare that continued for over 20 years.

“The Hazel Boyz: The Trials of Four Innocent Men” was a hard read. The reason it was a hard read is that if you are a blue blooded, justice loving American patriot, you will be very angry when you read this. It reads like nightmare fuel because the system that we all have been taught to and want to believe in did’t just fail these men, it intentionally damned them. 

This reads like a story. you would expect to hear from a survivor in a country like North Korea or China. This is not something you expect to hear about in the United States of America. As a person you tolerate that while sickening, occasionally a horrendous mistake occurs and someone might somehow be mistakenly or wrongfully charged. Our court system is supposed to catch such things. That is the design, truth will out, everyone gets a fair day in court. Truth and justice win out.

This will make you righteously angry and it should; what’s worse is that in talking with the one of the authors on my podcast, Deon Patrick, I found out this far more common place then the system would like people to know still today. 

Take a ride through the eyes of 4 men, wrongfully accused and convicted of a double homicide they did not commit. Read through the words of Deon Patrick, Daniel Taylor, Paul Phillips and Lewis Gardner. From their arrest, interrogation and torture to their grossly corrupt trials. Feel their pain as their sentences are passed and futures stolen. Walk into prison with these men, feel their fear and hopelessness. 

Experience a small fraction of the the long years of time they endured through each of their eyes. You will ride a rollercoaster of emotional ups and downs as these uneducated youngsters are forced to contend with a legal system designed inundate even the most educated of lawyers. 

Feel their hope as the Chicago Tribune takes interest in their case…

To be honest I had moments in the book where I had to stop reading. The outrage I felt burned hot in my heart as I had to contend with one of the institutions or ideals I had long believed in was challenged to the core. Justice has always been a foundational belief in my life and while it is not perfect, I always believed that the United States was built on this bastion, that justice is for all men.

I cried when they were finally exonerated, after all they suffered, after all that was taken from them, some small form of justice final was given. It can never make up for all that was stolen, all the pain and all the wrong.

“I don’t look at this situation as a blessing, I will likely never forgive the men who did this to us, but I look back on it and be like, would I be here today had I not went through this situation?” – Deon Patrick

The Hazel Boyz is One hell of a read!

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