The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy

Summary

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist comes a searing, no-holds-barred account of two linked and tragic deaths stemming from the 2020 George Floyd protests that explores the complex political and racial mistrust and division of today’s America.

On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests that rocked the nation after George Floyd’s death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father. What followed were two investigations of Scurlock’s death.

One was conducted by the white district attorney Don Kleine, who concluded that Gardner had legally acted in self-defense and that he be released without a trial. A second grand jury inquiry conducted by African American special prosecutor Fred Franklin indicted Gardner for manslaughter and demanded he face trial. Days after the indictment, Gardner killed himself with a single bullet to the head.

The deaths of both Scurlock and Gardner gave rise to a toxic brew of misinformation, false claims, and competing political agendas. The two men, each with their own complicated backgrounds, were turned into grotesque caricatures. Between the heated debates and diatribes, these twin tragedies amounted to an ugly and heartbreaking reflection of a painfully divided country.

Here, Joe Sexton masterfully unpacks the whole twisting, nearly unbelievable chronicle into a meticulously reported and nuanced account of the two deaths, explaining which claims were true and which distorted or simply false.

The Lost Sons of Omaha carefully examines some of the most pressing issues facing America today, including our country’s dire need for gun control and mental health reform; the dangerous spread of fake news, particularly on social media; and the urgent call to band together in the collective pursuit of truth, fairness, and healing.