Product Description

John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, in his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A's, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept 20 hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a 21 year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jaihouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to Death Row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65645 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-10
• Released on: 2006-10-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Review
"* 'a nall biting story' The Sun 'a killer combination of sheer story-telling nous and no-nonsense prose' Independent 'Grisham hasn't lost his touch' Daily Mirror"

Synopsis
John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, in his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A's, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept 20 hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a 21 year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jaihouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to Death Row.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

From the Publisher
Murder and injustice in a Small Town

Customer Reviews

UNBELIEVABLE !!!
This is the first book by John Grisham that I have read.

I found the US legal jargon hard to follow and there were so many names mentioned, and who was related to who, and who was involved with who, and who was making up lies...

Had this been a film or a fictional book, I would have said it was too far fetched!!

The story was tragic, infuriating and beyond belief at some points.

I thorougly enjoyed the book, but as the story was based on real people, it left me with a tinge of sadness.

Sad, but true
How could anyone so obviously innocent be found guilty and sentenced to death? If this had happened a century ago I could believe it, but we're talking the 80's here! The state of Oklahoma and the town and prosectutors of Ada should be ashamed. This book will bring you to tears, and is one of the best I have ever read. Buy it, read it, you wont be able to put it down.

Justice is worth fighting for.
Anybody who has any interest in justice and fairness ought to read this book. It is a shocking revelation of a miscarriage of justice in Western civilisation. If this true story were just a one off it would be appalling, but it leaves one with the feeling that this may just be the tip of the iceberg. In certain parts of the world justice is not something that is held in high esteem, but here in the West we expect our justice system to be a foundation for our civilisation.

John Grisham has done an excellent job, both in his careful investigation and in the presentation of the facts in this book. For me it made both compelling and challenging reading. Challenging because as individuals our moral stance contributes to the fabric of society and we need to guard against a careless attitude towards matters of right and wrong.

As others have pointed out, the photographs give a précis of the story and should be looked at only after reading the book otherwise it is like taking a peek at the last chapter.

All in all a very worthwhile read.