Earl Good: The Vice Lord Killer Who Lost His Family, Killed 5 People, and Never Came Home

Earl “Mongoose” Good was a Vice Lord from Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood whose life became a decades-long journey through Illinois reform schools, prisons, and correctional institutions. After spending much of his childhood in state custody, Good became involved with the Vice Lords and later one of the most notorious murder cases in Illinois history. This documentary explores the life of Earl Good, the history of the Vice Lords, the Chicago Parental School, St. Charles, Sheridan, Menard Correctional Center, and the chain of events that led to five murders in just 39 days during the fall of 1975. Using court records, prison documents, historical archives, and public records, we examine how a boy raised by institutions became a man sentenced to 90–180 years in prison, spending more than six decades behind bars. A story about North Lawndale, crime, punishment, reform, and the unanswered question of whether the system that tried to save Earl Good helped create the man he became. DISCLAIMER: This documentary is produced for educational and historical purposes only. The criminal activities depicted are condemned in the strongest possible terms. We do not glorify, promote, or condone violence, drug trafficking, or any illegal activity described in this video.