Product Description

Murder and injustice in a small town

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3430 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-15
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Synopsis
John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, is 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 jailhouse 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 Back Cover
Ron Williamson was a star college baseball player in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma. When he left to pursue his dreams he seemed destined for glory. But years of injury, drinking, drugs and women took their toll.

He returned to Ada a lonely drifter. In 1982, a 21 year-old cocktail waitress was raped and murdered. After five years of fruitless investigation the police arrested Williamson for want of any other suspect. The case against him was built on bogus evidence and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. He was found guilty at trial and sent to Death Row.

This is a true story of the criminal justice system gone terribly wrong. Of vengeful prosecutors and incompetent defence lawyers. Of a man's journey to hell. A journey from which he nearly didn't return.

`John Grisham has built his stunning writing career on producing brilliant, fast moving, utterly believable legal thrillers. His 19th book however, is so harrowing and gruesome that it just doesn't seem conceivable. Yet it's true - all of it' The Mirror

`A work of art...this is a terrible and beautiful book. The burning care and respect for
his fellow man shown by Grisham permeates and warms every page'Sunday Express

`Like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, The Innocent Man brings a novelist's eye to re-creating a complex chain of events and human reaction surrounding a crime and its aftermath' Sunday Times

About the Author
John Grisham is the author of eighteen bestselling novels and the international number one non fiction debut The Innocent Man. He lives with his family in Virginia and Mississipi.

Customer Reviews

Tough going
I'm going to side with the majority on this one, and sum up The Innocent Man as tough going and ultimately disapointing.
The outing of a lazy and corrupt law and judicial system is a noble cause that offers some interesting insight, but the prose is laborious and at times makes for tortous reading.
I stuck with it because I wanted to give Grisham the benefit of the doubt - his other works warrant that honour - but I could quite easily have shelved this one with a good chunk left unread.
It isn't classic Grisham that we all know and love - it was never going to be given the real-life subject matter - but you still expect a great deal better.

passion play
First let's applaud Grisham for using his stature and name to devote considerable energy to write some wrongs in the American criminal justice system. Even more so as his first foray into non fiction some 18 stories later.

As a Grisham virgin, perhaps that's what was so attractive about The Innocent Man but herein lies the ultimate dilemma. It is undoubtedly a fascinating story of misjustice, mostly well told and vivid with a conclusion that is emotional and sobering. There's the simple small town American life trod all over with prejudice,fear and dogma, mixed with the volatile machinations of quick fix retribution law enforcers. And that's just Grisham fighting the endemic misjustice that has haunted the death penaltly.

Williamson and Fritz's lazy convictions at the heart of this book give Grisham his hook to launch a mini tyrade. It does the trick as ultimately it will prompt you into at least a glance at the real case archives on the internet and the real lives of real people still living this nightmare.

So back to the dilemma with this book. Mass market equals mass awareness but doubtless some disappointed Grisham fans. Despite the cover quote it doesn't have the feel of a legal thriller. You could argue it feels like any basic trawl from any basic hack looking for a break, littering the discount book shop bargain bins. Yes it is better than that but often Grisham adopts such a basic approach and language to make you wonder. It's also marred by a clear and too personal agenda to discredit the prosecutors at any cost. A little more objectivism would have helped the cause.

A worthy cause no doubt but it will surprise and disappoint the Grisham fans in equal measure.

Out of his comfort zone
This seems to be an admirable research file for a next novel. As a research file it has lots of incidents, lots of characters, but it lacks cohesion and narrative to make it interesting.