This is Non-fiction. A story of two men who were wrongfully convicted of murder and rape in Oklahoma. Though a big part of the story was focused on Ron Williamson, once a dreamer of becoming a Baseball star but due to several reasons, his dream became impossible. He then became friends with Dennis Fritz and the two of them became drinking/partying buddies. And later they both became convicted for the murder and rape of a young woman named, Debbie Carter. Ron was even given the death Penalty and Dennis a life sentence. Years later, they were finally cleared, and proven innocent.

Aside from Grisham's latest two books, this is the only book of his that I haven't read before now for the sole reason that it's a Non-fiction. I used to not read Non-fiction. I must admit, I was kind of put off because of the writing. It isn't the usual Grisham's style that I've grown to love but I can't deny the fact that he really did a good job narrating every stages of Ron's life making the reader more connected to Ron. And care for him. I think that's one of the top reasons why Grisham wrote this book, for us to care about Ron. Still it took me a month to finish this book. Why? Because  Ron has many mental issues and so it was hard for me to keep going. I hated the fact that Ron, instead of being treated was forced to go to prison making his conditions worse. He was too depressed, for God's sake. Anyway, though very informative, I found this story very sad and heartbreaking. And maybe I was mad few times while reading and not becaus eof the writer, Grisham merely told us the story, but because of what's happening to Ron. I really, truly cared for him.

The sad true story of innocence lost and justice delayed for a mentally ill man.

3.5 Stars

*A terrifying True Crime story about what can happen when the justice system fails*


The Innocent Man was a bookclub selection. I wasn’t sure about this book at first. I’ve read plenty of True Crime, but the ones I read usually focus more on crime solving and criminal profiling rather than the legal system. It did take me a while to get into the book. It starts out very dense with a lot of info-dumping. So it took me weeks to get through the first quarter. But once I was engaged it only took me a couple of days to finish the rest of the book.

I try to take things with a grain of salt, so just because the cover proclaimed the man was wrongly convicted didn’t mean I was going to jump to that conclusion too. But having read the book, this was unquestionably a massive miscarriage of justice. And it wasn’t just once instance or one person to blame. There was a repeated disregard of law by law enforcement, the legal system, and the prison system.

The book explores the history of two different murder cases that happened in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma in the early 1980’s and the four innocent men that were accused of committing those crimes. The way the cases were handled was inexcusable even for the times. From negligence to personal vendettas, these cases are pretty much the epitome of everything that should not happen in the justice system. They show just how easy it is for an innocent person to have their life ruined by false accusations.

Other than the slow, dense start, I have two points of contention about this book. The first is that although the book talks about two different cases and the four men accused of committing those murders, this is really a book about Ron Williamson. The other men are primarily mentioned in their relation to Williamson. Even his co-accused, Dennis Fritz, doesn’t get nearly as much depth. And after explaining about the second murder case, that case and its accused drop off the map and aren’t mentioned again until the author’s note at the end. That was extremely frustrating to me. I wanted to know what happened to them as well. My expectations would have been different if I had realized that this is more a biography of Williamson than an exploration of both murder cases. The other case is basically presented as further evidence of local corruption. It isn’t explained in satisfactory detail. And as I mentioned, it gets completely ignored for the second half of the book.

The other criticism I have for this book is Grisham’s lack of objectivity. I believe this was his first nonfiction book. And I can see how easy it would be to become emotionally invested in such a tragic case. Nevertheless, although at first glance Grisham seems to present everything factually, his bias becomes increasingly clear as the book goes on. He frequently uses declamatory and derogative adjectives against the law enforcement and legal representatives involved in the injustice while using consolatory and affirmative descriptions for the accused. Even when an event is known only by hearsay from both parties, the “bad guys” always get scoffing remarks while the “innocent” are validated with rock-solid certainty. So while I absolutely agree that justice was not served, this book should still be taken with a grain of salt and other sources should be consulted. Despite the in-depth research, The Innocent Man is absolutely not an unbiased account. But it does bring up important points about due process and the justice system in America, so I would still recommend it to True Crime fans.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Attention to Details: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Objectivity: 2 Stars

This type of work is necessary so that the world at large can learn how sick the legal system can be! (specifically America in this work; how much more elsewhere). I am reminded of an acquaintance of mine here in west Africa who spent over half a year in jail just because he was ‘suspected’ of stealing something he knew nothing about! Reading this book, the mind boggles!! How can kids eg have their whole lives ruined – spent in jail/death row after being forced and coerced to confess to crimes they know nothing about? How many countless ‘criminals’ have been killed or sentenced to life imprisonment before DNA evidence unequivocally exonorated them later on? What price the life of hapless denizens when law enforcement agents are bent on convicting them at all costs? Such is the case here with the spotlight brilliantly beamed on the life – the vicissitudes - of an Innocent Man who nevertheless suffered horribly, accused of a heinous crime that he did not commit. And what about his long-suffering (pious) Mother, and Sisters? What about their vicarious and direct suffering? And yet through it all, the stigma of being accused and CONVICTED of (a) crime would always be there with members of the community, even relatives, shunning and snubbing such people even long after they have been exonerated. It is so sad. Why is the world often so unfair?

This was a well-written and researched book about two true-crimes in Ada, OK which sent 4 innocent men to prison, one barely missing execution by five days. Hard to read about however. It sent me to Google to learn more about the Innocent Project which tries to get innocent prisoners exonerated.

This is the most astonishing, terrifying, horrifying book by the brilliant author John Grisham that I've ever read (and I've read a few). We have all heard, surely, that "the truth is stranger than fiction". One may or may not subscribe to that theory, but this story certainly confirms it. One of the reasons I usually avoid non-fiction — especially about current events — is that it so often infuriates me. This story is another example of that. It infuriates me. It doesn't help that I was born in Oklahoma, spent nearly all of the first 23 years of my life there and know most of the towns mentioned in the story from first-hand experience.
When I sat down to write this "review" I thought of summing it up in just one sentence, "The American criminal justice system is just that: criminal." Read this excellent book and perhaps you'll understand what I mean.

"Pirmasis Johno Grishamo negrožinės literatūros kūrinys. Mažame miestelyje vykdomo tariamo teisingumo tyrimas, tapęs sensacingiausiu autoriaus iki šiol parašytu teisiniu trileriu.
Jei manote, kad esate nekaltas, kol neįrodyta priešingai, ši knyga jus šokiruos. Jei esate mirties bausmės šalininkas, perskaitęs ją sutriksite. Jei tikite sistemos, vykdančios baudžiamąjį teisingumą, objektyvumu, stipriai įniršite".
Oklahomos valstijoje rastas išžagintos 21m. padavėjos lavonas. Penkerius metus vykęs nusikaltimo tyrimas buvo perniek. Dėl priežasčių, kurios niekada nepaaiškėjo, policija įtarimus pareiškė Ronui V. ir jo draugui Denisui F. Apkaltinus žmogžudyste, jiedu buvo suimti. Baudžiamoji byla buvo pagrįsta ne tiesioginiais įkalčiais, kurių iš tikrųjų nė nebuvo, bet klaidinamais teismo medicinos ekspertizės rezultatais, kalėjimo skundikų ir kitų nuteistųjų parodymais. Denisas pripažintas kaltu ir nuteistas kalėti iki gyvos galvos, o Ronas nuteistas mirties bausme. Tačiau istorija tuo nesibaigia...
Daug žadanti Rono kaip perspektyvaus beisbolininko karjera, sunkus psichikos sutrikimas mirtininkų kalėjime, tik per plauką neįvykdytas mirties nuosprendis,ir nenuovokūs policininkai, nesugebantys nustatyti akivaizdaus žudiko. Žmogus, paleistas iš kalėjimo, kuriame nors ir nebuvo įvykdęs jokio nusikaltimo, praleido dvylika metų. Žmogus, kuris neišgirdo nei elementariausio atsiprašymo, nes atsakingiems asmenims pritrūko drąsos pripažinti savo kaltes, nei atsisveikinimo...
Tiesiog ir daugiau ką nors pakomentuoti būtų sunku; ant tiek viskas tikroviškai ir smulkiai parašyta, kad turėjau daryti tam tikras skaitymo pauzes, kad galėčiau toliau tęsti, ir sužinoti kuo viskas pasibaigs.
Tikrai labai rekomenduoju!!!

My new years resolution will be to not impulse buy books from Tesco. This was ok but by page 400 i was bored. I skimmed the last 100 pages. I'll give true crime books a rest for a while.

Two stars is the lowest rating I give. This book was over-detailed to the point of boredom and frustration . Mr. Grisham is terrific at courtroom fiction and should stick to that genre.

BAUSTI NEGALIMA PASIGAILĖTI

Turbūt ne kartą girdėtas pasakymas ir klausimas : kur, tam tikroje situacijoje, kablelį padėtumete jūs?
Šioje knygoje pasakojama tikra istorija apie tai, kaip ne vietoje padėtas kablelis sugriovė ne vieną gyvenimą.

1983 metais, mažame Ados miestelyje, savo namuose, rasta išprievartauta ir nužudyta Debra Siu Karter.
Po penkis metus trukusio policijos "tyrimo" ( atsiprašau, kabučių padėti tiesiog neįmanoma) suimti ir nuteisti du asmenys - Ronas Viljamsonas ir Denisas Fricas.
Nors abu savo kaltę kategoriškai neigė, tačiau
abėjingi advokatai, melagingi kalėjimo skundikų parodymai, padirbti įkalčiai, baisiai atmestinai atlikti tyrimai ir užsispyrę tyrėjai pasiekė savo - Ronas buvo nuteistas mirties bausme, o Denisas įkalinimu iki gyvos galvos.

Tai viena įdomiausių mano skaitytų true crime knygų. Čia nebuvo daug kruvinų detalių, tačiau Grishamas daug laiko praleido gilindamasis į aprašomų žmonių gyvenimus, jų aplinką ir išgyvenimus. Labai daug dėmesio skirta Rono emocinei būklei, skaitant protu buvo nesuvokiama, kaip tokį žmogų galima buvo įkišti į kalėjimą, kai jam aiškiai reikėjo pagalbos ir kuo greičiau. Sudaužytos svajonės, sugriauti gyvenimai, bet niekada nemirštanti viltis, padėjusi išgyventi net juodžiausiomis dienomis.
Apie pyktį, kurį jaučiau skaitant kaip vyko teismo procesas ir policijos darbas, turbūt galėčiau prirašyti dešimtis lapų, bet patys privalot knygą perskaityt, kad suprastumete ant kiek viskas buvo absurdiškai blogai.
Puikus pavyzdys, kaip vieno žmogaus atmestinai atliktas darbas gali kainuoti kito žmogaus gyvybę.

Labai liūdna knyga, nors ir su laiminga pabaiga, tačiau priverčianti apmąstyti visus savo įsitikinimus.

Didelis ačiū Knygų Damai už rekomendaciją, tikrai dėmesio verta knyga.

Fascinating. Love that John Grisham heard about this case after the convicted murder, Ron Williamson, had died precisely 20 years after the crime in 2002. A frequent drunk and mentally unstable character well known around town, the cops latched on to him and another local man as they failed to make any progress in solving the brutal death of a young woman in Ada, Oklahoma. It took 5 years but the two were eventually convicted despite solely circumstantial evidence presented at trial. And all the while Ron's mental capacity ebbed and flowed as guards in the prison learned how to manipulate his thorazine doses to ensure he'd be more or less cooperative depending on if he was going to court that day. It's an infuriating glimpse at how easily injustice can be served and how long an inmate can go without proper mental or physical attention, especially on death row.

Grisham's first non-fiction book. A true crime story. Interesting.