The Actress and The Bishop

Thoughts and Ramblings from a Student Librarian.

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Location: Illinois

I act. Lately, I've been acting like a Librarian-in-training

01 May 2007

The Innocent Man by John Grisham

The tagline to this book is, “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.” And I couldn’t agree more. Perhaps I’ve been conditioned from watching CSI and other forensic/crime drama shows, but I became physically mad at times while reading this book. Despite the first-person pronoun in the title, Grisham introduces the reader to at least four men who were accused of, and in some cases executed for, crimes they did not commit. The main focus of the book is on Ronald Williamson, a former Minor league baseball player who, in the early 1980s, was a couch potato. When a young woman in his hometown, Debbie Carter, was brutally raped and murdered, he was implicated by one man, and for reasons that are still sketchy, the Chief of Police and the local District Attorney focused their entire investigation on Mr. Williamson, nearly to the exclusion of anyone else, including one man’s videotaped confession that he had killed Ms. Carter. Over the course of many years, the police put together a case against Mr. Williamson that was based on hearsay, shaky evidence, and prison snitches. One major piece of evidence that was used against Mr. Williamson was a dream that he told the police he had. In that dream, he had raped and killed Ms. Carter. Mr. Williamson and a friend, Dennis Fritz, were eventually convicted of the rape and murder, and Mr. Williamson was put on Death Row. After many years, with the help of The Innocence Project, both convictions were overturned and both men were freed and given a monetary compensation. While this story does have a satisfactory ending for the family of Mr. Williamson, Debbie Carter’s murder is still unsolved. By the time I finished reading the book, I was no longer angry, but I was disappointed that there are places in America where injustice is so obvious and ramped. I wasn’t surprised, which is the sad part, but I am pleased that Grisham took the time to convey this story to the American public. Perhaps the nation will soon be able to really learn from its mistakes.

If you enjoyed this book, please consider these :
Fiction Recommendation #1 : The Testament by John Grisham. This novel tells the story of Nate O’Reily, a lawyer set on a wild goose chase in order to pin down the heir of a great fortune. Nonfiction Recommendation #1 : The Dreams of Ada : A True Story of Murder, Obsession, and a Small Town by Robert Mayer. This book, published in 1987 first brought the story of the unfairness of the trials in Ada, OK, to the general public. Mr. Grisham cites it on occasion.

1 Comments:

Blogger Barbara's Journey Toward Justice said...

John Grisham and Dennis Fritz Unite On A Journey Toward Justice
Thought you may be interested in this story.

John Grisham, author of "The Innocent Man", published by "Doubleday Random House" and Dennis Fritz author of "Journey Toward Justice", published by "Seven Locks Press" Santa Ana, CA have a long term commitment to making appearances related to "the innocence movement" nationwide.
Grisham's first nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man" is a bestseller on Amazon worldwide. Dennis Fritz has his first book "Journey Toward Justice" on Amazon and is a bestseller worldwide.

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, is a chronicle of the Oklahoma case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of former minor-league baseball player Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. Once asked whether his book is a kind of social activism, he says: "When I researched and wrote the book, it was impossible not to become indignant and infuriated. And that becomes an activism in itself."

Journey Toward Justice: Dennis Fritz tells his side of the story of his unwarranted prosecution and wrongful conviction, that changed his life and a small community forever. Dennis Fritz was tried and convicted on non-existent evidence, the false testimony of jailhouse snitches, faulty forensics work and suppressed evidence.

Together and Separately they attend many fundraising events and appear on Television and Radio Talk Shows.

May 22 both John Grisham and Dennis Fritz will be on Dateline.

Grisham spoke Thursday May 10th at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, In Kansas City for an Innocence Project fundraiser. The Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal aid to prisoners "with persuasive actual innocence claims" in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska,Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Sponsors were the Midwestern Innocence Project, the McKellar Group and Rainy Day Books.

Grisham discussed his recent nonfiction book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.This chronicled the Oklahoma case that resulted in the wrongful convictions of former minor-league baseball player Ron Williamson who was sentenced to die. Ron died of cirrhosis in December 2004, five years after being freed.

Thursday in an interview with The Kansas City Star, author John Grisham said the death penalty in the United States should be "abolished forever". He also said it is his personal view that the death penalty is immoral. Grisham realizes that the most powerful argument against the death penalty is that it kills the innocent as well as the guilty, a case that he makes simply by telling Williamson and Fritz's story.
He also discussed Ron Williamson's friend Dennis Fritz. Dennis Fritz got life in prison. Both were exonerated after spending years in prison.

Dennis Fritz also works with the Innocence Project in Kansas City, Missouri. He makes appearances related to "the innocence movement" nationwide.

He is using a book he recently published, "Journey Toward Justice", as a vehicle to bring awareness of the overall, devastating effects of how false convictions can destroy people's lives and how mistakes can be made in cases.
He travels the United States speaking to law schools and also hopes to reach prosecutors and judges.

Here is what Barry Scheck from The Innocence Project says about Dennis Fritz's book Journey Toward Justice:
There have been one hundred eighty-one post-conviction DNA exonerations in America. The exonerated and their families are the heart and soul of this movement. There is no more decent and dignified a man, nor a more gentle soul, than Dennis Fritz. He has had the fortitude to tell his whole story. As always, I am in awe of his courage and humbled by his efforts.- Barry C. Scheck The Innocence Project.

Please visit my Blog Barbara's Journey Toward Justice

May 17, 2007 6:58 AM  

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