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. 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 twenty-one-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.
Don't miss Framed, John Grisham's first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, co-authored with Centurion Ministries founder Jim McCloskey.
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Is it possible for a criminal to find redemption? Fans of John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" will love this. Explore the depths of the human spirit in this true story. By George Critchlow. Grab your copy of "The Lifer and the Lawyer" now! https://t.co/N3DJkyDQJK
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The U.S. Supreme Court denied the state’s request to take up the case after lower federal courts’ ordered Oklahoma to vacate the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot, one of the men profiled the John Grisham book The Innocent Man. https://t.co/iJVA3ymrgj
Yadi is the boss of me. Our courts should seek justice instead of convictions. Passionate about justice, OU sports and dismantling oppression
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town - John Grisham: if this was written as fiction, no one would believe it could really happen @WardInnocentMan https://t.co/2RAzC5aueN
"Grisham has crafted a legal thriller every bit as suspenseful and fast-paced as his best-selling fiction."--Boston Globe
"Grisham's pared-down prose and matter-of-fact voice make for tense reading."--People
"Skillfully told . . . An important book."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Meticulously researched . . . a compelling narrative."--Entertainment Weekly
"John Grisham's latest book has the usual touches fans have come to expect from the master of the legal thriller: suspense, shock, even a wrongful conviction and near execution. But this time, the tale is true."--Associated Press