Let's say you are seeing overzealous investigators with tunnel vision, an arrogant and unscrupulous prosecutor, an unscrupulous judge, lying witnesses, a blind defense attorney, and a mentally incompetent defendant. You might suspect you were watching a sitcom. But no, this is what passed for justice in Oklahoma and sent an innocent young man to Death Row. I really enjoyed reading this book. The author and I speak the same language and there was never a point when I didn't understand what was happening. If you don't like the courtroom, you might as well skip the book because the court is the heart of the story. That's where the story comes together. This is not an isolated incident or an error or a simple mistake. This was a concerted effort to convict these young men based on no evidence. I have no doubt that it happens in every state in our great nation. 24

The story was meticulously researched and painfully narrated. It shows what happens when Law Enforcement goes wrong and fails to bring Justice.

What a heart wrenching story. So many lives affected by a few arrogant and/or lazy people. This story is so well written you feel like you are right there.

John Grisham takes a stab at a true story in The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. While the story is certainly engaging enough, I felt that the writing could have been better. The Innocent Man is Ron Williamson, a small-town baseball hero from Ada, Oklahoma. Williamson was on top of the world when he was drafted by the Oakland A's in the early 1970's. Six years later, he crashed back to reality due to an injured arm, bad choices, lack of discipline and drug and alcohol abuse. Not only did he lose his chance to finally make it to the majors, but he also lost his pretty young wife and his sanity. In 1982, a 21 year old cocktail waitress was brutally raped and murdered. The names of Williamson and a friend, Dennis Fritz, were mentioned as possible suspects. But it wasn't until five years later that they were arrested on very circumstantial evidence. Grisham relates how these two were rail-roaded by a ruthless and arrogant district attorney, Bill Peterson. Both men were found guilty on the flimsiest of evidence manufactured by quack scientists and jail house snitches. Evidence was also altered, hidden or tampered with by the prosecution. It is during the appeals process that the true heroes of The Innocent Man come alive, and they are the lawyers and staff from the Appellate Public Defender's Office, the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System and The Innocence Project. "Long before DNA erased the mysteries, they had found the truth the old way with brains and sweat." Unfortunately, Grisham gets bogged down with the story and ends up repeating the same facts over and over. He also goes off on tangents--including jailhouse conditions, death row cases, etc. Ron Williamson's battles with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are very depressing. Also, I question an author who would write a non-fiction book without an index. This seems a big omission for a book of this scope. The Innocent Man is what we have come to expect from Grisham--an entertaining and very disturbing tale. I just felt that it could have been assembled a little better.

This is a very good book. I rarely review or give 5 stars. Sad, funny, thought provoking, true story. I'm a John Gresham fan. I think this is the best book he's written! I'll read it again.

This is a true story of innocent men and the injustice they have endured. A very good read, John Grisham at his best very moving.

This is not a book to read for fun. I doubt it was fun to write. But it is important. I appreciate the time and effort put into not it and found it well worth reading.

A wonderful book about a grave injustice visited on innocent men and the consequences that resulted. If this had been done unintentionally, it would still have been difficult to accept. The fact that it was done maliciously by the very people charged with maintaining law and order makes it so much worse. A compelling and devastating read.