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Search - The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
| The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town Author: Rating: |
Subjects:
| ISBN-13: 9780440243830 ISBN-10: 0440243831 Publisher: Dell Publication Date: 11/20/2007 Pages: 448 Book Type: Mass Market Paperback |
Book Description:
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 Reviews
Katy B. (
7 member(s) found this review helpful.
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.
John S. from HEPHZIBAH, GA wrote on 12/25/2007...
5 member(s) found this review helpful.
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.
Katie W. (
4 member(s) found this review helpful.
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.
Phyllis E. (
3 member(s) found this review helpful.
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!!
2 member(s) found this review helpful.
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.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Based on a true story - loved this book. Very interesting read.
Sandy A. from ORINDA, CA wrote on 2/8/2008...
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
A sad tale of a sad man. Oklahoma "justice" is appalling and this is written by an Okie.
Rate These Member Reviews
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.
LeRoy C. from ROCKWALL, TX wrote on 1/5/2008...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.