The True Story of Charles Innes (Teaser)

Charles Innes serves as a case study for the inaccurate portrayal of drug-related events in mass media. While mainstream narratives depicted him as someone who hallucinated on PCP and gouged out his own eyes, investigation reveals that the injuries stem from systemic police brutality rather than drug-induced insanity. Authorities in 1960s Baltimore entrapped Innes in a drug-related setup, accusing him of illicit activity when he refused a forced buy involving cocaine. The subsequent encounter with law enforcement left him blind after he was subjected to harsh treatment while under the influence of PCP, a dissociative anesthetic he consumed to avoid detection by, and eventual arrest from, police. This interaction highlights how drug use is often leveraged by institutions to devalue individuals and obscure official misconduct.