This book is a step out of Grisham's normal writing. Normally, of course, he writes fiction.
This book is every ounce the truth, and involves not one innocent man put on death row, but really three. All because of one small towns incompetent prosecutor and police.
The harrowing tale reads just like a work of fiction; you have to remind yourself every so often that someone truly suffered through this.

This book was a disappointment to me. It read more like one of those "true crime" books that appear in Walmart shortly after some horrible crime is committed. It did not keep my interest, so just skimmed through the last half. If I hadn't been stranded on a plane, I would have set it aside and picked up something else.

true crime AND written by a well-known author. I appreciate that Grisham has a reputation to uphold and therefore I know that I have a better chance of getting a well-rounded version of the story. This is not true with all true crime novels. It is an interesting read, makes me glad I live in the DNA test era.

I really enjoyed this book. Grishom was able to hold my interest throughout the book. The story of Ron Williamson is a tragic one that needed to be told. I hope Oklahoma's judicial system has cleaned up its act!!

I thought this was a great book. It's the true story of men wrongly imprisoned because we didn't have the techology we have now, because some men made deals and because certain law enforcement wanted to close the case....all of which I thought was very interesting, of course. But I also found it interesting and thought provoking to see what the false imprisonment did to the personalities and psyche of the men...those who wouldn't give up and those who did. Definitely a good read.

This book shocked and opened my eyes to the issue of sending innocent people to prison. I am from Oklahoma and grew up in a small town in the Panhandle. John Grisham nails what it is like to live in Oklahoma. The class culture and every thing is either black and white prevail. I never knew the state prison was in such bad condition. You assume you pay your taxes the government will make sure that at least the minimun standards are met. The mental health care was sorely overlooked, and because the family had no money there was nothing they could do. To see a man deteriate as Ron Williamson did and to be treated as he was in the various jail enviroments was heart breaking and shocking. I expected more from my home state and if it hadn't of been for Judge Seay an innocent man would have been put to death. How many more are there out there?

The book is well written and hard to believe it is non-fiction. The story shows gross misconduct with the sloppy police work, lazy judges and lawyers that just didn't give a damn about the innocent men. It seems they were all quick to point fingers and speed an unfair trail along so that they could put someone behind bars and send the "guilty" to death.

One could never imagine a worse hell than what the victim had to go through before being killed and their faimly of having to find her body as well as go through an emotional trail. Not to mention what the accused and thier family had to live through before finally being aquitted. Living in a small cell for over 11 years is enough to drive anyone crazy, especially if they did not commit a crime that would justify their stay behind bars.

Even after being released from prison, Ron has to live in a constant "jail" (his mind). Although he did nothing wrong and did not commit any crimes, after living in jail and in a federal prision, it still haunts him. People are upset of his release, and he has to live with the constant feeling that they can find "new" evidence that could send him back to his nightmare. The guards would toture him with thier words because they knew just how disturbed he was mentally and they got a kick out of making him fly off the handle.



There are a lot of twists and turns in this horrible true story. If you enjoy non-fiction crime books. This is a good read as John Grisham has done another wonderful job at having all of the detailed placed percisely, without having any slow moving chapters.

I really enjoyed reading this book, altho, it is not typically a John Grisham book, (non fiction) it is a very scary but true story about a truly innocent man, and the very inept judicial sydtem in many states in our country.It is a very quick read and I truly believe that most people will enjoy reading it as much as I did....

A sad tale of a sad man. Oklahoma "justice" is appalling and this is written by an Okie.

Definitely not one of Grisham's best, but still enjoyable.

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Grisham's style seemed different while writing this story. A bit more disjointed, but still enjoyable.

True story/great book! Wouldn't expect less from John Grisham.

A good read - interesting topic and interesting to think about - not a typical Grisham effort and that's reflected in the # of stars in the reviews, but it's still a good read.

I expected more, but would still buy it if I had not read it.

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 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.

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