The Other Side of Prospect: A Story of Violence, Injustice, and the American City

by Nicholas Dawidoff

One New Haven summer evening in 2006, a retired grandfather was shot point-blank by a young stranger. A hasty police investigation culminated in innocent sixteen-year-old Bobby being sentenced to prison for thirty-eight years. New Haven native and acclaimed author Nicholas Dawidoff returned home and spent eight years reporting the deeper story of this injustice, and what it reveals about the enduring legacies of social and economic disparity.


  
In The Other Side of Prospect, he has produced an immersive portrait of a seminal community in an old American city now beset by division and gun violence. Tracing the histories of three people whose lives meet in tragedy—victim Pete Fields, likely murderer Major, and Bobby—Dawidoff indelibly describes optimistic families coming north from South Carolina as part of the Great Migration, for the promise of opportunity and upward mobility, and the harrowing costs of deindustrialization and neglect. Foremost are the unique challenges confronted by children like Major and Bobby coming of age in their “forgotten” neighborhood, steps from Yale University. After years in prison, with the help of a true-believing lawyer, Bobby is finally set free. His subsequent struggles with the memories of prison, and his heartbreaking efforts to reconnect with family and community, exemplify the challenges the formerly incarcerated face upon reentry into society and, writes Reginald Dwayne Betts, make this “the best book about the crisis of incarceration in America.”


 
The Other Side of Prospect is a reportorial tour de force, at once a sweeping account of how the injustices of racism and inequality reverberate through the generations, and a beautifully written portrait of American city life, told through a group of unforgettable people and their intertwined experiences.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime, Crime, Politics, Race, Sociology

464 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2022

About the author

Nicholas Dawidoff is the best-selling author of five books, including The Catcher Was a Spy and In the Country of Country. A Pulitzer Prize finalist, he has been a Guggenheim, Berlin Prize, and Art for Justice Fellow. He lives in Connecticut.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most powerful pieces of non-fiction I’ve read since Jill Leovy’s Ghettoside. It is both an intimate and heartbreaking story of one wrongfully imprisoned teenager and a persuasive indictment of our entire economic, law enforcement, and judicial systems. But it’s not all infuriating doom and gloom. Scattered throughout are incredibly moving tales of good people—teachers, police, fellow inmates, etc—doing great things in the midst of a broken system. A minor warning: the authors writing is ever-so-slightly idiosyncratic and requires a little getting used to. Don’t let that put you off—this is well worth the commitment.

[Sophie Cappello · Rating 5 out of 5]

this will sit with me for a very very long time

[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at a neighborhood affected by the industrial revolution only to lose businesses and become poverty stricken. It mostly follows an African American who is falsely accused of murder and sent to prison. A look at the trauma, systemic corruption, and those that work toward justice. I thought the author did a good job showing different sides of the coin.

[Brian Houston · Rating 5 out of 5]

RG got me this book for Christmas. Story of a teenager in New Haven who is wrongly convicted of murder and imprisoned. Much of the book focuses on the story of this wrongful conviction, but this individual story is also weaved with social perspectives on inequity, racism, policing in Black neighborhoods, the justice system, the town/gown divide, gun violence, Black migration to the North, and more. Compelling book overall.

[Henri Santelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A disturbing yet powerful must read. I would highly recommend to everyone, especially those unfamiliar with mass incarnation/police racism conversations

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thoroughly written story about a young boy who falsely admitted to a murder he did not commit and the challenges and discrimination he faced even when sufficient evidence was provided clearing him. I loved the wholeness this book provided from the generations of history of the man who was murdered to how Bobby tried to regain his life after exoneration. I gave this book a 4.5 (and 4 stars) because at times this book felt long-winded and a little too detailed for my liking. With that in mind, it is also immersive and written with care for Bobby to have his story be told.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won’t forget the people in this book for a long time. I find myself wondering about where different people are now. And wondering what would have happened if a certain young person hadn’t been killed. The author was able to make that kid sympathetic in spite of what he appears to have done.
Definitely going to read more of Nicholas Dawidoff’s books.

[Ron Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad, illuminating dig into the plight of Black boys and young men in urban America. Read it with heart and mind wide open.

[Robert Wechsler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so well written and such a special, personalized (and, to me, local) approach to a number of topics, including the history and pre-history of urban Black neighborhoods, hopelessness, inequality, incarceration, violence, and police and prosecution injustice (and incompetence), that it might seem petty to point out weaknesses, but the author certainly didn’t hold back from doing this, so why should I?

This incredible book goes into more detail than was necessary (displaying the author’s herculean labors), and is saved only by Dawidoff’s great writing skills. Even so, the book starts to peter out toward the end. A late chapter that tries to provide more context, which is insufficient in the book as a whole, puts too much emphasis on inequality and postindustrial society, which are only two (the most fashionable) of several problems, and criticizes Yale without also explaining how the university and hospitals are the postindustrial businesses most cities are left with (and those without are in even worse shape). These are important problems but, since the book is so valuable, they are relatively small ones.

[Clare Suter · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many of the research themes I’m interested in within a single book/story. It was sometimes hard to tell whether the focus was a boy or a neighborhood, and some of the family history felt unnecessarily detailed. But powerful enough that I’ll probably go back and flip through from time to time

[Stephen Raguskus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books tells a powerful and important story of an unfair society, inequality and a broken system. Unfortunately, the author took a gripping page-turner and made things pretty dry and tedious. He should’ve just focused on Bobby and his heart wrenching story instead of trying to cover 100 years of history and explain every tangentially related happening. Davidoff did the same thing with “The Catcher Was A Spy.” He needs to stay focused and keep it simple.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Other Side of Prospect will have you richly pondering the effects of poverty, race and discrimination long after the book is put on the shelf. It’s the heartbreaking true story of Bobby, an affable New Haven-area teenager who is shamelessly coerced into confessing to a murder he did not commit. When author Nicholas Dawidoff is describing Bobby’s agonizing drama — and the tragic backstory that caused it — the book is spellbinding. But, unfortunately, Dawidoff too often strays into endless forays from sociologists, anthropologists, legal scholars, professors and others. The gripping story grinds to a halt and the reader is told what too-often happens in poverty-stricken areas. The explanations are way too long and Bobby’s story — the heart of the narrative — is placed on the back burner. The Other Side of Prospect could have been phenomenal, and while it was exceptionally thought-provoking, it fell short of a beginning-to-end epic.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting look at one man's experience with the justice system - Bobby spent years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, and reading his story makes him real - that this is not just a statistic. I appreciated that the story didn't end with Bobby's release from prison and that it continued as he tried to find his way out in the world.

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 - A bone chilling spotlight on racism, poverty, police coercion, and mass incarnation told through the true story of Bobby Johnson who was wrongly convicted of a murder he did not commit. Thoroughly researched over 8+ years, this book brings to life the many ways in which our society continues to fail young Black men in our country.

[Marc Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of this were very gripping and interesting -- other points it dragged. Overall, it probably could have been cut by 50-75 pages.

[Emilio III · Rating 5 out of 5]

The central plot in this book involves a wrongful conviction. But that is just one among many threads in this expansive nonfiction work. Over the course of its 450 pages, the author manages to weave in several related stories: the history of New Haven, Conneiticut, the history of the Winchester company, racial divide, mass incarceration, education, poverty, the difficulties that previously incarcerated individuals have in reacclimating into society, and a host of other social ills. And if that isn't enough, there are book-length biographies of many of the key players.

I used a combination of Kindle and audiobook to work my way through the book, with most of my time spent listening on Audible as I walked my dog. I think we put in several dozen miles.

Despite the many tangents in the story, it never felt tedious. I happen to be interested in all of the topics covered. The author weaves his story around the main plot of sixteen-year-old Bobby, who falls victim to two incompetent police detectives who would rather use intimidation and lies to secure an arrest than do any actual detective work.

The list of people who have falsely confessed to crimes they did not commit is lengthy. Some of the common denominators include young males without representation, lengthy interrogations, threats of long prison sentences along with promises of leniency if they cooperate, lies about evidence, lies about statements from witnesses, intimidation, sleep deprivation, etc.

The bad police work is made even more appalling when their errors are brought to light, and they not only deny having made any mistakes but brag about their record of solved cases. I'm talking to you, Detective Willoughby.

Correcting an injustice like Bobby's is a difficult task. It's even more difficult when there is a confession and no DNA that will exonerate him. For that, Bobby had to rely on the work of one dedicated lawyer, Ken Rosenthal, who believed in Bobby's innocence and worked tirelessly to gain his freedom.

At one point, the author spent several chapters on Bobby's effort to get a driver's license after his release from prison. At first, I thought it was a stretch to spend so much time on what seemed like such an inconsequential topic, but then the author described how the lack of transportation or a driver's license perpetuates the lack of opportunities for those living in poverty. When there is only one car in a family or no car, it makes life difficult for anyone trying to find work.

While Bobby did receive compensation for his time behind bars, I never felt that he received a windfall that would allow him to pursue his dreams. Instead, I was left with the feeling that his life after his prison experience was a struggle and that he never fully recovered.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of America's enduring legacy of racism and classism, the American dream granted to some by industrialization and then taken away once those jobs left. This is the story of those left behind.

Dawidoff is an excellent narrative storyteller and Newhallville is treated as a microcosm of the American city. The story follows one young man who ends up spending nine years in federal prison for a murder he didn't commit due to the overzealousness of two police detectives who offered him "ten years of probation if he confesses or the death penalty if he refuses to confess" and kept him, a sixteen year old teenager, locked in a windowless room for hours without a parent or guardian present. When he asked for a lawyer, they declined. When he tried to leave, they blocked his path. And when he finally confessed because it seems like his best option, his public defender offered him 38 years. By pleading guilty, he waived his right to appeal. The Innocence Project got involved, and finally Bobby was free to learn how to do at 28 the things most 17 year olds were learning to do.

The tragedy of cities like Newhallville is that it is only a few blocks away from unimaginable wealth and privilege. Yale does not pay taxes to the city; it saves $146m per year on not needing to pay taxes. And yet it does not benefit the surrounding city at all. "In the city but not of the city." This is a story of governments, police officers, educational institutions, and citizens needing to do better for their fellow human beings. In a wealthy country like the U.S., kids shouldn't need to carry guns to school just to feel safe.

[Ann Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This account of a young man's imprisonment on a false charge is meticulously researched and well told. It follows this young man-- Bobby-- through his childhood in New Haven and and the crime he was falsely convicted of after giving a false confession under duress. It also describes the victim's (the man Bobby supposedly shot) childhood and family and professional life. It then follows the legal process that leads to Bobby's exoneration and his life outside of prison. The first 3/4 of the book is a compelling narrative. It stays that way until Bobby's exoneration. It seems like the author wants to tell a story with a hero, that hero being Bobby. But after Bobby's release he doesn't do any of the things he plans to do (like training as a carpenter or going back to school). Instead, he lives off his substantial settlement from the state. Which is fine-- they guy lived through hell. But it's as if the author wants to obscure this uninspiring fate from the reader. He adds beside-the-point chapters about Yale's relationship with New Haven (Yale bad), Bobby's thoughts and plans, etc, and won't even name the amount of Bobby's settlement. It seems like the author doesn't trust the reader not to judge Bobby for his lack of accomplishments or long-term relationships once he leaves prison, so he won't tell the conclusion of Bobby's story in a candid way. And this lack of trust and detail from the author to the reader ultimately detracts from the otherwise outstanding book.

[Jarrett Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eye-opening, deeply human portrait of New Haven through the lens of a single murder in 2006. Through the victim Herbert Fields’ story, Dawidoff retraces New Haven’s decline from industrial prosperity and the Great Migration to deindustrialization, inequality, poverty, and hopelessness. And through the story of the 16-year-old falsely convicted of the murder, Bobby, Dawidoff examines policing in the city—over-and under-policing, forced confessions, corruption, a breakdown in community trust, and more—as well as the struggles of reintegrating into society. And though the story of the likely murderer and later victim of gun violence, Major, Dawidoff shows the allure of guns in neighborhoods like Newhalville and how traumatic childhoods and lack of opportunity can lead young men to become serial murderers. As a Yale student, I found the reflections of Newhalville residents like Bobby on Yale—so close and yet another world to them—revealing and sad. I for one interacted so little with the surrounding community and felt apart as a Yale student and can only imagine what that level of inequality would feel like for someone who grew up there. The Other Side of Prospect will be one I think about going forward, much like The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace—more moving and thought-provoking for being so grounded in individual humans’ struggles, aspirations, and loss

[EVAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maddening, frustrating and brilliant

"The Other Side of Prospect" is a book about the failure of America and a must-read.

The book is about Newhallville, a poor Black neighborhood of New Haven a couple of miles and a universe away from Yale (the title references a street in New Haven that divides the city). The book starts with the story of Pete Fields, a Black man who, along with so many others, migrated to Connecticut in search of work. The book discusses the communities that provided good factory jobs and then fell apart due to deindustrialization.

It then segues to the story of Bobby, a 16 year old, arrested for Fields' murder.

I don't want to spoil too much, but the book touches on everything from police misconduct to deindustrialization to inequity to the reintegration of convicts into society.

If your blood doesn't boil when you read this, then you have no heart. It should be mandatory in classes from high schools (especially affluent one) to law schools (especially Yale's).

[Cody Kaemmerlen · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than 6 years of research culminating in an incredibly thoughtful and moving work of non-fiction that should be on the list for all readers.

Centralized in the authors hometown of New Haven, he weaves a story that juxtaposes the lives of those on Newhallville (a neighborhood of New Haven) against the walled off lives of prestige and privilege less than a mile away on the campus of Yale.

The main narrative documents the murder of a beloved Black elder townsmen and subsequent wrongful imprisonment of Bobby, a young Black child, who at the time of the murder wasn’t near the scene of the crime.

A story of the hard working but systemically oppressed, of bad policing and unjust judiciary, of a prison system where Bobby found education, love and mentorship, of a small few who fought for justice and of the still beating hearts that carry these stories today.

Written with such mastery as to not bias the readers mind, but absolutely pull at the heart. Incredible.

Very dense, in both content and amount of print on each page, so be prepared to dig in.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendous book. It’s the story of a wrongly convicted man. It’s the story of a city. It’s the story of the Second Wave of the Great Migration. It’s the story of a family. It’s the story of the legal system. It’s the story of elite institutions of higher education and their relationship with their communities. The breadth of research that Dawidoff did to write this book boggles the mind. Reading along, one might encounter James Baldwin, Richard Wright, a beat cop from the ‘80’s that Dawidoff tracked down to interview, or more wrenching recall from a family member in Newhallville. The narrative is gripping from the first page to the last. Books like this give me faith that penetrating, methodical, journalism and writing is still possible and valued. Though I loved all of it, I think I valued the last third, which chronicles Bobby after his conviction is dismissed. The story of re-entry is so rarely chronicled, and the reader gets to see it up close in real time. Bravo.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly researched and documented account of one boy's tragic wrongful conviction and imprisonment in New Haven CT. I was drawn to it to gain a better personal understanding of this amazing city where I live and work. And I became engrossed in this miscarriage of justice. New Haven is a city of contrasts: home to a world class university adjacent to a community wracked by poverty due to historical circumstances and neglect. It's an account of stark contrast due to racial discrimination, poor policing, and its effects on one young boy and his family and neighborhood. It includes the goodness and dedication of certain people who involved themselves in positive actions: cellmates, lawyers, family members and friends
A tragic story that also shows that change is possible when a small group of individuals come together to right a wrong.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is excellently written. Dawidoff does such a phenomenal job of writing about Pete Fields, Bobby, and even Major. By the end of the book I felt intimately familiar with all of them, especially Bobby. My biggest problem would be with the lack of clarification about Dawidoff's depictions of events, particularly after Bobby's release. He describes events so vividly I began to get confused: was he there with him, or was he taking information from Bobby and putting a creative spin on it? This was a question I felt his note on sources did not satisfactorily answer. But overall a really amazing effort. You can tell how much Dawidoff cares about New Haven as a community, and reading his work feels like driving around the city yourself.

[Sean O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was given to me as a gift since we live in CT. First off, CT probably has a reputation more for opulence, so it could be eye opening to some. I found it fascinating to think of how cities like New Haven were populated by those who migrated North post-abolition. They were seeking opportunity and then the decline of manufacturing resulted in poverty. Dawidoff alternates skillfully between personal accounts and more broad-based stats and urban history. For me it was very heart-wrenching to experience this depiction of the justice system. I come away with a sad sense of pre-determination, as if our neighbors are born into this with little hope for overcoming. Very likable figures at the heart of it.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books with similar premises as far as racial disparities/socioeconomics etc, but this is really the first one where I felt like I got a more nuanced understanding of the WHY. I thought the author did an incredible job explaining the rationale behind choices that seem deeply hard to understand if you have never been in those situations. I didn't love the author's writing style, it was a little convoluted and a little showy for my taste, but I don't think it took away from the book. This is dense and a long read, but worth it. It gets into the true nuances necessary to understand a story like this, and it's incredible and heartbreaking. The human capacity for evil, resilience and hope is on full display here.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely fascinating & tragic. A must-read for basically everyone — especially those of us who have graduated from, attend, or, in some fashion, contribute to elite universities in urban centers & anyone who wants to learn more about the interplays of class, race, and policing through a personal lens.

1000/10 — have never been able to accurately explain the many strikes against those of us who grew up in inner cities until this book.

P.S: while written by a white (and obvs privileged) man, I sincerely appreciate the humility and self-reflection that Dawidoff portrays in his narrative voice. No white saviorism to be found here which was a big relief.

[Lauryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sad and infuriating story for so many reasons. Beginning and end are a bit slow, but it was a good book overall. Is this review partially biased because the book was based in New Haven??? Yes. But would I still recommend the book to a friend??? Yes.

Notable quotes (that should make you angry!!!):
-“Mass incarceration had created an inevitable mass reentry”
-“Within three years of release, two-thirds of former prisoners were rearrested. After five years, the number rose to three-quarters.”
-“In Connecticut, a felony record exposed a person to 625 so-called collateral consequences upon prison release, restrictions on housing, student loans, and forms of employment…”

[Koren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me realize how lucky I am to live in an area where there is very little crime. As a matter of fact, there is only one unsolved murder in the county I live in and it sounds like they have new DNA evidence and could be on the right track to solve this murder that is almost 50 years old. But in the town of Newhaven, murder is an almost every day occurrence. This is a story about a town that has a white side and a black side, and it is also about a 16-year-old boy who was falsely accused of murder and spent 9 years in prison before being exonerated.

[Laura Valenziano · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story of a teenager who spent 9 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit but was talked into pleading guilty by immoral police officers. The story is an instrument for the author to discuss the unjust conditions Black males experience in America, North and South. It provides a window of illumination into impoverished communities not often explained accurately in news stories. A very deep look into many of the unjust things that happen in the USA.