White Hawk

Book excerpt: Good Friday morning, 1967. A jeweler is murdered, his wife raped. The accused is Thomas James White Hawk, an indigenous person and former athlete at a military academy in Minnesota.White Hawk tells the unforgettable true story of murder in the Midwest and the trial that ignited social, ethical, and political debate across America. Told from the perspective of student-journalist Craig Peters, this new American courtroom drama blends fact with literary fiction about indigenous history to weave a complex tapestry of Tom White Hawk's life, depicting his impoverished upbringing on a South Dakota Indian reservation, his success at college, his romantic relationship, his murder conviction, and his death sentence.Each page of author Greg Redlin's daring book digs deeply into still-relevant sociopolitical issues facing America today, such as the shameful treatment of indigenous people, minority injustice in the court system, and sexual abuse by authorities. And behind it all, Redlin encourages the question: Is the death sentence wrong?