| The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town Contributor(s): Grisham, John (Author) |
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ISBN: 0385517238 ISBN-13: 9780385517232 Publisher: Doubleday Books OUR PRICE: $31.50 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2006 Annotation: Grisham's first work of nonfiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, is his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. Those who believe in "innocent until proven guilty" or that the criminal justice system is fair will be shocked and infuriated. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - True Crime | Murder - General - Political Science | Law Enforcement - Social Science | Penology |
| Dewey: 345.766 |
| LCCN: 2006048468 |
| Physical Information: 1.23" H x 6.48" W x 9.44" (1.48 lbs) 368 pages |
| Themes: - Geographic Orientation - Oklahoma - Chronological Period - 1980's - Chronological Period - 1990's - Demographic Orientation - Small Town |
| Accelerated Reader Info |
| Quiz #: 111257 Reading Level: 8.1 Interest Level: Upper Grades Point Value: 20.0 |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher 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. |