Overview

A captivating account of the most corrupt and blood-soaked chapters in Chicago law enforcement history In December 1969, the FBI, the Chicago Police Department, and the office of States Attorney, led by rising political star Edward V. Hanrahan, conspired to assassinate Black Panther leader Fred Hampton, and then flagrantly covered up their misconduct. Thirteen years later, Jackie Wilson was tortured by the same police department and wrongfully incarcerated for thirty-six years. Drawing on unique insights from his role as a leading opposition lawyer in both cases, award-winning author Flint Taylor details the vast political corruption uncovered in the Hampton case and the twists and turns of Wilson's forty-year effort to win his freedom. With blistering clarity and righteous indignation, The Conviction Machine shines a penetrating light on the sordid world of prosecutorial misconduct and police violence.

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Reviews

“A masterful chronicle of Fred Hampton's murder and its aftermath, Taylor's insider account reveals the shocking depth of official conspiracy and cover-up while celebrating the tireless advocates who refused to let the truth die with Hampton.” —Chesa Boudin “Flint Taylor is a gift to Chicago and the nation. This rigorous, unsparing and brilliant dissection of decades-long racism, corruption, and lies by Chicago law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges should be required reading in law schools nationwide. We can only hope it triggers a long overdue reckoning with the true character of our criminal legal system.” —Dr. Martha Biondi, author of The Black Revolution on Campus and We Are Internationalists: Prexy Nesbitt and the Fight for African Liberation “Flint Taylor exposes the absurd, cowardly and racist machinations of Chicago officials, who permitted police to get away with torture rather than take a stand to stop them. The book reads like a novel by Kafka—except it’s true.” —Ben Joravsky, journalist and host of The Ben Joravsky Show podcast ""The Conviction Machine is a scathing, jaw-dropping indictment of our criminal justice system and the conspiratorial ways prosecutors are complicit in police murder. Flint Taylor, a true legal legend, exposes the truth that we must acknowledge: the Chicago police tortured and murdered in cold blood, prosecutors were complicit, and this history must be retold to understand the battles we face today."" —Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, PhD Author of Crook County and Crime Fictions ""Only a legal practitioner of Flint Taylor's skill and vast experience could have written this diagnosis of the routine cruelties and frequent absurdities produced by a criminal justice system built on a bedrock of unacknowledged racism. Drawing on two epic cases, he provides a devastating account of the interactions between police abuse, prosecutorial misconduct, and political machinations. A brilliant and necessary book."" —Jamie Kalven, Founder of the Invisible Institute, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist Praise for The Torture Machine ""If it was not for Flint Taylor I would still be languishing in prison. He brought hope to a hopeless place."" —Darrell Cannon, torture survivor ""It is impossible to fully understand the continuing challenges created by unjustifiable police violence against black and brown people without appreciating the historical backdrop that sustains this national crisis. Flint Taylor's powerful new book, informed by his decades as one of the most effective advocates addressing these issues, is a must-read."" —Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy ""Taylor is a walking passcode to CPD misconduct. It was Taylor and his colleagues who unearthed the crimes committed by the “Midnight Crew,” a squad of racist cops who tortured blacks to extract their false confessions."" —Rolling Stone ""[A] searing memoir... essential reading for all who care about this country—past and future."" —Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Blood in the Water ""Incredible and devastating."" —Jeremy Scahill ""[A]n unsparing dissection of foundational racism in the criminal justice system ... It could not be more timely."" —Jamie Kalven, Investigative Reporter and Founder, Invisible Institute ""Each victim's case is a fascinating story in itself while the totality of the lawyers' efforts fighting a resistant establishment is staggering."" —The Observer

""A masterful chronicle of Fred Hampton's murder and its aftermath, Taylor's insider account reveals the shocking depth of official conspiracy and cover-up while celebrating the tireless advocates who refused to let the truth die with Hampton."" —Executive director of the Criminal Law and Justice Center, University of California, Berkeley School of Law  Praise for The Torture Machine ""If it was not for Flint Taylor I would still be languishing in prison. He brought hope to a hopeless place."" —Darrell Cannon, torture survivor ""It is impossible to fully understand the continuing challenges created by unjustifiable police violence against black and brown people without appreciating the historical backdrop that sustains this national crisis. Flint Taylor's powerful new book, informed by his decades as one of the most effective advocates addressing these issues, is a must-read."" —Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy ""Taylor is a walking passcode to CPD misconduct. It was Taylor and his colleagues who unearthed the crimes committed by the “Midnight Crew,” a squad of racist cops who tortured blacks to extract their false confessions."" —Rolling Stone ""[A] searing memoir... essential reading for all who care about this country—past and future."" —Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Blood in the Water ""Incredible and devastating."" —Jeremy Scahill ""[A]n unsparing dissection of foundational racism in the criminal justice system ... It could not be more timely."" —Jaime Kalven, Investigative Reporter, Executive Director, Invisible Institute ""Each victim's case is a fascinating story in itself while the totality of the lawyers' efforts fighting a resistant establishment is staggering."" —The Observer

Praise for The Torture Machine: ""If it was not for Flint Taylor I would still be languishing in prison. He brought hope to a hopeless place."" --Darrell Cannon, torture survivo ""It is impossible to fully understand the continuing challenges created by unjustifiable police violence against black and brown people without appreciating the historical backdrop that sustains this national crisis. Flint Taylor's powerful new book, informed by his decades as one of the most effective advocates addressing these issues, is a must-read."" --Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy ""Taylor is a walking passcode to CPD misconduct. It was Taylor and his colleagues who unearthed the crimes committed by the ""Midnight Crew,"" a squad of racist cops who tortured blacks to extract their false confessions."" --Rolling Stone ""Taylor's The Torture Machine is a sad but necessary reminder of how citizens can be victimized by those who are supposed to protect them and how that abuse can poison entire neighborhoods. But it is also a story of a hard-won hope that resulted in some degree of justice for victims and an effort to remind children of what once happened in the hope that it won't be repeated. The book is a chronicle of tenacity and hope alongside brutality and injustice, and in that way it is a profoundly Chicago story."" --Psychology Today ""[A] searing memoir... essential reading for all who care about this country--past and future."" --Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Blood in the Water ""Incredible and devastating."" --Jeremy Scahill ""If you want to understand what actually happened to those Jon Burge tortured read this book. "" --Anthony Holmes, Torture survivor ""[Torture Machine] is a riveting account...a forensic analysis of decades of collusion between judges, politicians, prosecutors and the police to engage in systemic human rights violations."" --Juan Gonzalez ""[A] harrowing tale...Taylor illuminates in graphic detail the scars caused by some of the worst elements of law enforcement in a city perpetually beset by violence."" --Kirkus ""Harrowing...Taylor writes with conviction and empathy."" --Publishers Weekly ""[A] compelling book...."" -- Booklist, Starred Review ""This book is a powerful testament to their courage and determination and is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand what can happen when those in power condone violations of civil and constitutional rights for political expediency."" --Mary E. Howell, Civil Rights Attorney ""A stunning, sweeping history of police violence in Chicago, and Flint Taylor's lifelong pursuit of racial justice. Quite literally the work of a lifetime."" --Alison Flowers, Author of Exoneree Diaries: The Fight for Innocence, Independence, and Identity ""[A]n indispensable and searing account of the barbarous regime of policing under Jon Burge, and the ongoing fight for justice."" --Martha Biondi, author of To Stand and Fight. James Thindwa, Labor Activist and Board Member, In These Times. ""[A]n unsparing dissection of foundational racism in the criminal justice system ... It could not be more timely."" --Jaime Kalven, Investigative Reporter, Executive Director, Invisible Institute ""Each victim's case is a fascinating story in itself while the totality of the lawyers' efforts fighting a resistant establishment is staggering."" --The Observer

""At last, Flint Taylor has given us an intimate, accurate, behind the scenes, forceful portrayal of the murderous machinations of the underbelly of American justice. I’ve been anxiously awaiting Flint’s exemplary work. Taylor vividly expresses the politically motivated, taxpayer-financed, and treacherous shenanigans of our nation’s political establishment and its enforcement apparatus; the American police departments, who area all too frequently in cahoots with the FBI, ICE, CIA, etc.  Racism is its idealized engine, its raison d^etre. The assassination of a young brilliant, gifted and courageous Black leader, Fred Hampton, was in a real sense its ultimate achievement. Fred’s assignation was not just a localized Chicago travesty of justice. It was the only officially sanctioned taxpayer-financed assassination of an American citizen for political reasons and political objectives by the U.S. Government in American history. And I was to be included in its deadly, deliberate undertaking! Fred’s assassination is the framework, the backdrop, the murderous modus operandi that still permeates our American law enforcement policy. Minneapolis and the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by America’s police operatives are our most recent reminders that much more remains to be done, and it must be done by the power of the people, common ordinary people. Thank you, Flint Taylor, for ""connecting the deadly dots"". The ""Conviction Machine"" is a must-read for all freedom-loving, justice-seeking, and people-loving people. —Bobby Rush, former U.S. Congressman and former Deputy Minister of defense of the Black Panther Party   ""Most often, popular history tells the story of the predator and not the prey. This is not that story. My Brother, Beloved Atty. Flint Taylor is the David who slew the Goliathan: the CHICAGO POLITICAL/POLICE MACHINE. If you keep hope alive and stay in the fight, you will win; even in the face of the most daunting odds and intimidating foes, you will win. This book is your blueprint."" —The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, and his daughter, Santita Jackson, Producer/Host of the ""KEEP HOPE ALIVE with REV. JESSE JACKSON and the SANTITA JACKSON Radio Shows.  “A masterful chronicle of Fred Hampton's murder and its aftermath, Taylor's insider account reveals the shocking depth of official conspiracy and cover-up while celebrating the tireless advocates who refused to let the truth die with Hampton.” —Chesa Boudin “Flint Taylor is a gift to Chicago and the nation. This rigorous, unsparing and brilliant dissection of decades-long racism, corruption, and lies by Chicago law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges should be required reading in law schools nationwide. We can only hope it triggers a long overdue reckoning with the true character of our criminal legal system.” —Dr. Martha Biondi, author of The Black Revolution on Campus and We Are Internationalists: Prexy Nesbitt and the Fight for African Liberation “Flint Taylor exposes the absurd, cowardly and racist machinations of Chicago officials, who permitted police to get away with torture rather than take a stand to stop them. The book reads like a novel by Kafka—except it’s true.” —Ben Joravsky, journalist and host of The Ben Joravsky Show podcast ""The Conviction Machine is a scathing, jaw-dropping indictment of our criminal justice system and the conspiratorial ways prosecutors are complicit in police murder. Flint Taylor, a true legal legend, exposes the truth that we must acknowledge: the Chicago police tortured and murdered in cold blood, prosecutors were complicit, and this history must be retold to understand the battles we face today."" —Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, PhD Author of Crook County and Crime Fictions ""Only a legal practitioner of Flint Taylor's skill and vast experience could have written this diagnosis of the routine cruelties and frequent absurdities produced by a criminal justice system built on a bedrock of unacknowledged racism. Drawing on two epic cases, he provides a devastating account of the interactions between police abuse, prosecutorial misconduct, and political machinations. A brilliant and necessary book."" —Jamie Kalven, Founder of the Invisible Institute, and Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist Praise for The Torture Machine ""If it was not for Flint Taylor I would still be languishing in prison. He brought hope to a hopeless place."" —Darrell Cannon, torture survivor ""It is impossible to fully understand the continuing challenges created by unjustifiable police violence against black and brown people without appreciating the historical backdrop that sustains this national crisis. Flint Taylor's powerful new book, informed by his decades as one of the most effective advocates addressing these issues, is a must-read."" —Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy ""Taylor is a walking passcode to CPD misconduct. It was Taylor and his colleagues who unearthed the crimes committed by the “Midnight Crew,” a squad of racist cops who tortured blacks to extract their false confessions."" —Rolling Stone ""[A] searing memoir... essential reading for all who care about this country—past and future."" —Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Blood in the Water ""Incredible and devastating."" —Jeremy Scahill ""[A]n unsparing dissection of foundational racism in the criminal justice system ... It could not be more timely."" —Jamie Kalven, Investigative Reporter and Founder, Invisible Institute ""Each victim's case is a fascinating story in itself while the totality of the lawyers' efforts fighting a resistant establishment is staggering."" —The Observer

Praise for The Torture Machine ""If it was not for Flint Taylor I would still be languishing in prison. He brought hope to a hopeless place."" —Darrell Cannon, torture survivo ""It is impossible to fully understand the continuing challenges created by unjustifiable police violence against black and brown people without appreciating the historical backdrop that sustains this national crisis. Flint Taylor's powerful new book, informed by his decades as one of the most effective advocates addressing these issues, is a must-read."" —Bryan Stevenson, best-selling author of Just Mercy ""Taylor is a walking passcode to CPD misconduct. It was Taylor and his colleagues who unearthed the crimes committed by the “Midnight Crew,” a squad of racist cops who tortured blacks to extract their false confessions."" —Rolling Stone ""[A] searing memoir... essential reading for all who care about this country—past and future."" —Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Blood in the Water ""Incredible and devastating."" —Jeremy Scahill ""[A]n unsparing dissection of foundational racism in the criminal justice system ... It could not be more timely."" —Jaime Kalven, Investigative Reporter, Executive Director, Invisible Institute ""Each victim's case is a fascinating story in itself while the totality of the lawyers' efforts fighting a resistant establishment is staggering."" —The Observer

Author Information

As a law student, Flint Taylor was a founding member of the People's Law Office and has been a partner of the PLO since 1972. As a student and lawyer, he has been dedicated to litigating against police violence and racism for more than fifty-four years. Among the landmark cases that Taylor has litigated are the Fred Hampton Black Panther case; the Greensboro, North Carolina case against the KKK, Nazis and Greensboro police; and a series of cases arising from a pattern and practice of police torture and cover-up by Chicago police Commander Jon Burge, former Cook County State's Attorney and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, and numerous other law enforcement officials. He has represented, and continues to represent, many wrongfully convicted persons, including police torture victims who have spent decades in prison and on death row. He has chronicled his work and that of the People's Law Office in an award-winning historical memoir titled The Torture Machine.

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