The Innocent Man by john grisham

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

The legal thrillers of Grisham are always fascinating. However, the book in question is not a novel as the author abandons fiction and narrates a true story, that of Ron Williamson, interweaving it with other cases of "miscarriage of justice" in America, if we can define it as such.

3,5

Surely it will leave the author's admirers perplexed because, in this case, it is as if he is putting on paper a sort of chronicle, a documentary, very interesting indeed, but which precisely because of this aspect, in some passages, turns out to be very slow.

I experienced it as a "book-expose" on the gaps of the American judicial system, on the excessive power of the law enforcement agencies, on the weight that summary and in some cases false testimonies can have, on the consequences that so many unmotivated lawyers can cause to people's lives...even keeping an innocent person in prison and leaving a monster free.

It is more of an instructive read than a pleasurable one.

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Rei965

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

It should be noted that this book should be titled "The Innocent MEN."

It describes 2 cases, each involving 2 men, making a total of 4 men. We have the all too common and dastardly scenario where the DA's office and local police conspire to win the case at all costs. They fudge, manipulate, cheat, and tamper with the state's evidence, regardless of truth and justice.

However, for me, the behavior of the law enforcement authorities is not the most shocking aspect of these tragic chronicles. It is the decisions made by the juries that led to the convictions. The jury of your peers is supposed to be the strength of the US justice system, but here we see the horrible consequences when it fails to do its job. Unfortunately, this element was not stressed enough in the book. It is clear that the residents of this locale, in this case the rural town of Ada in the conservative state of Oklahoma, were unduly influenced by biblical notions of vengeful justice, preventing them from conducting a more impartial consideration of the reasonable doubt present in all of these cases.

Of course, the significance of these trials is enhanced by the fact that they were capital murder cases, with the death penalty looming in the background. And as any true Grisham fan knows, capital punishment is one of the issues that disturbs Mr. Grisham (see "The Chamber"). This no doubt served as the main inspiration for him to get these stories out.

I also learned of the heroic attempts of defense lawyer Barry Scheck, the founder and chief advocate of the "Innocence Project." This project is dedicated to using DNA evidence to exonerate individuals wrongly convicted of crimes (362 wrongful convictions have been overturned as of 2019). Apparently, Mr. Scheck was not just a showboating attorney in the O.J. Simpson trial.

This book should be required reading for all secondary schools, as the students will someday form the pool of potential future jurors.

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IoanaXM

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

The true story that the book describes is strange, the book is less so. I blame two factors:

1. Long scenes that dragged on and on and proved to be completely irrelevant - not advancing the plot or the atmosphere of the book. Descriptions of situations that repeated and repeated information that had already been given before (for example, the description of the character's nature - I understood that the cop was bad and a liar and I understood that the accused was drunk and crazy the first time...).

2. The translation work. I admit that I haven't read John Grisham before - neither in English nor in translation to Hebrew - so maybe I'm wrong about what I'm about to say. But I have a strong feeling that the translation work damaged the book. Ruined it. An archaic language and dusty. Hebrew expressions that were inserted into the text in what seemed like an attempt to spruce it up. Unconvincing dialogues.

The translation of the American feel of the book and the very Southern-American characters is definitely a difficult job. And it was done poorly.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it for a few chapters and only because of the incomprehensible story.

One thing stood out to me in the editing of the book. I don't know if to call this a spoiler because it's exactly what I came to describe:

The book deals with a man who was put in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He is sentenced to death. Meanwhile, he is waiting in the death row cell while his lawyers outside are trying to prove that he is innocent and get him out to freedom.

This is the premise of the book and this is the question that hovers above - whether he will be executed or perhaps they will succeed in freeing him.

And somehow in a strange decision, they decided to put in the middle of the book several pages of a chromo with pictures of the (real) characters from the story. And in one of the pictures, the main character is photographed, the one we don't know if they will succeed in freeing or not, and next to it is written "Ron [the main character], two weeks after his release".

If before the book was slow, now that I know what its end is, how am I supposed to enjoy the reading?? From that moment on, any attempt to create tension regarding the allegedly unknown end of the character - was ridiculous.

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LunaNoodle

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

This is John Grisham's first foray into non-fiction.

It chronicles the life of Ron Williamson, a once-promising minor league baseball player with dreams of making it big in the major leagues.

But life had other plans for him. After leaving his baseball career, he returned home and descended into a life of excessive drinking, drug use, and womanizing.

Tragedy struck when a waitress was brutally murdered, and Williamson, along with another man, was arrested. He would then endure eleven long years on death row before finally being reprieved.

This story is not just about one man's misfortune; it serves as a powerful reminder of the countless innocent people who unjustly pay the price for crimes they did not commit.

Grisham tells Williamson's tale with a great deal of empathy and compassion. However, the book is sometimes bogged down by an overabundance of details about Williamson's life, which can make it a bit tedious at times.

Given that this is a work of non-fiction, it also leaves one wondering about the accuracy of Grisham's research. Overall, while it has its flaws, it is still a thought-provoking and important read.

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Ginpachi_1234

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

A friend of mine got extremely excited when he saw me thinking of getting this book. We were at a second-hand shop together. He was so enthusiastic that he immediately gave me the money to buy it. However, what he didn't know was that another friend of mine was already buying all these books for me anyways.
Not to mention, the books were actually twice the price we originally thought they were.
So now, as a result, I have three more shekels, which is approximately 0.82 dollars, to my name. And I also have a book by an author that a friend of mine loves. It's quite a strange and interesting situation. I'm not sure what to do with the extra money or how to handle this unexpected turn of events. But one thing is for sure, I have this book that my friend loves, and that's something special.

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rainyspring

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

If you're going to read this, don't stop there. Go online and read Bill Petersen's account as well. It's only fair. And after all, "fair" is what this book is all about, right?

The Innocent Man alternates between a compelling account of a murder investigation and a tedious account of a man's stupidity, petty criminal activity, and insanity.

I had great respect for John Grisham until I read both this book and responses to the book by Ada prosecutor Bill Petersen. Petersen has legal documents to back up his claims that Grisham ignored key facts in the case. I assume he did this to make his book more compelling. However, I felt he was dishonest in his portrayal of the "facts". Because of that, this book isn't entirely "non-fiction".

I still respect Grisham's writing ability and will continue to enjoy his crime/law novels. But I honestly feel he unjustifiably did a great disservice to Petersen and the other investigators on the case. He did this in order to strengthen his argument that Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were railroaded by corrupt officials. Despite Grisham's claims in the novel, and while there was indeed an injustice done to Williamson and Fritz, the facts in the case show that they were not viciously prosecuted by officials who refused to see the truth. It's just not true.

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synapsii

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

A wonderful surprise from John Grisham.

It is a non-fictional work that describes the true story of a person, who is mentally ill and addicted to alcohol and substances.

The violation of human rights by the system.

You can't help but feel horror when reading how easy it is in reality for an innocent person to end up on death row simply because he didn't have proper legal representation and due to a series of illegal acts by the police, the prosecution, and the judge.

A multi-year struggle and the physical and psychological breakdown of a person who is deprived of his constant access to drugs and although he is innocent, the system judged that he deserved to be executed.

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cas-karas

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

July 14,2025

Great book, as usual, from Mr. Grisham. It's truly a masterpiece that once again showcases his remarkable writing skills. This time, it took me a bit longer than normal to read it. You see, I had a lot going on in my life at that particular time. There were various commitments and distractions that made it a challenge to fully immerse myself in the story. However, I'm glad I persevered.

My son also read it and he really enjoyed it as well. In fact, he liked it so much that it made a Grisham fan out of him. It's wonderful to see the impact that a good book can have on someone, especially on a young mind. Now, he has gone on to buy more of Mr. Grisham's books, eager to explore the other captivating stories that await him. It just goes to show the power of a great author and his ability to create worlds that readers can get lost in.

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The Innocent Man

john grisham craig wasson

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