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Search - The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
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The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town Author: |
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Book Information
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Book Description:
John Grisham's first work of nonfiction, 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 twenty 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.
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 twenty 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.
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Top Member Book Reviews
Jan T. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
I'm glad I read this book, but it is not your typical John Grisham. At times I felt detached, as if reading a blow by blow account, when I wanted to read a story instead. In the authors notes he states that he could have written 5,000 pages. I think he had a hard time deciding what to put in and what to cut and it seemed a little fragmented. BUT, it is a good story and will make you think about the justice system and how sometimes instead of being blind, it has on blinders.
Melody B. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
In Grisham's first foray into non-fiction, he has done a great job. It is truly amazing the corruption, laziness, and outright stupidity that can happen in the real law and order world - with a man's *real* life *really* at stake. This book will make you shudder - even though the main character is not necessarily a sympathetic one, you cannot help but feel his horror and bewilderment at his situation. I hope Grisham writes more non-fiction.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
As the book flap says: 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.
This is John Grisham's first book of nonfiction. At first it drove me crazy that he was telling about each persons past I guess I wanted him to get to the dirt. But it was gripping and oh yes it will infuriate you how these men were treated like yesterdays trash.
Carissa S. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I lived in OKC during this time and was completely unaware that it was happening in a small town southeast of me. Grisham writes the non-fiction as well as fiction, maybe even better. This one will definately open your eyes to the ways our justice system has effected peoples life. It also will show you how important DNA testing has become to our justice system. A great book, but beware, it will make you upset.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
I loved this book. I'm against the death penalty and this book is a wonderful illustration of a corrupt criminal justice system. I considered keeping this book for myself, however I think that everyone needs to have their eyes opened to this injustice. This book hits close to home due to the fact that I live about 40 miles away from the town in which it occured and John Grisham gets the feel of small town Oklahoma just right.
Shai G. (
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
You would never know this is Grisham's first attempt at non-fiction. This is a different type of true crime book. This book focuses more on the life of one man wrongly accused, basically framed by the police and prosecutors. A man who suffered greatly. The crime was never investigated properly. The victim deserved justice and it took too long for that to come.
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This book reminded me more of a legal textbook than a John Grisham novel. It was something that I had to make myself read, instead of the usual stay-up-all-night, can't-put-it-down page-turner that he usually publishes.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
From the cover:
In the town of Ada, Oklahoma, Ron Williamson was going to be the next Mickey Mantle. But on his way to the Big Leagues, Ron stumbled, his dreams were broken by drinking, drugs, and women. Then, on a winter night in 1982, not far from Ron's home, a young cocktail waitress named Debra Sue Carter was savagely murdered. The investigation led nowhere. Until, on the flimsiest evidence, it led to Ron Williamson. The washed-up small-town hero was charged, tried,and sentenced to death - in a trial littered with lying witnesses and tainted evidence that would shatter a man's already broken life... and let a true killer go free.
Impeccably researched, grippingly told, filled with eleventh-hour drama, John Grisham's first work of nonfiction reads like a page-turning legal thriller. It is a bok that will terrify anyone who believes in the presumption of innocence 0 a book no American can afford to miss.
Debbie H. (
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
I could not put this book down! What an amazing story!
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Not one of his best efforts. More like a newspaper account of a terrible crime.
Please Rate these Book Reviews
What made this book so gripping was the fact that it is a true story. It scared me that a miscarriage of justice could and probably still does happen. I had a hard time putting the book down knowing it was true. I had to know the outcome.
Did not enjoy it, but probably mostly my fault. I read it with the expectations to be similar to other Grisham novels. Based on a true story and more of a documentary. Lacked the page turning suspense.
Damien H. (Kind of proves the old saying "If it ain't broke don't try to fix it!" This is a different kind of writing for Grisham - and hopefully he will get back to the "tried and true" of his past. From my viewpoint this type of writing is done better by others -
As with most of John Grisham's books, this one is a good read.
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 laater 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 twenty hours a day on her sofa.
In 1982, a twenty-one-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, the 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.
An excellent true story of a great miscarriage of justice in a small Oklahoma town. Well written and gripping. A must read.
Debbie F. (Whether you agree with the death penalty or not, this book will probably infuriate you. It's hard to believe something like this can happen. It was a quick read for me. I thought it was well written and very easy to follow the story.
Non-fiction legal thriller! Really proves a lot about America and the criminal justice system. A book that's hard to put down!
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