The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther

A riveting account of the assassination, the plot behind it, the attempted cover-up, the denouement, and the lessons that we should draw from this shocking tale of government iniquity. -Noam Chomsky, author and political activist" [A] political cliff-hanger. . . . The Assassination of Fred Hampton is an exposé [that] should be read in schools across the country" -Huffington Post "[A] disturbing eyewitness account in straightforward prose. . . . A still-chilling tale of law-enforcement misconduct" -Kirkus Reviews It's around 7:00 a.m. on December 4, 1969, and attorney Jeff Haas is in a police lockup in Chicago, interviewing Fred Hampton's fiancée. She is describing how the police pulled her from the room as Fred lay unconscious on their bed. She heard one officer say, "He's still alive" She then heard two shots. A second officer said, "He's good and dead now" She looks at Jeff and asks, What can you do? The Assassination of Fred Hampton is Haas's personal account of how he and People's Law Office partner Flint Taylor pursued Hampton's assassins, ultimately prevailing over unlimited government resources and FBI conspiracy. Not only a story of justice delivered, the book puts Hampton in a new light as a dynamic community leader and an inspiration in the fight against injustice. Attorney Jeffrey Haas has spent his career working for justice. In 1969 he and three other lawyers set up the People's Law Office, whose clients included the Black Panthers, SDS, and other political activists. Haas went on to handle cases involving prisoners' rights, police torture, and the wrongfully accused. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and continues to represent victims of police brutality.