The release date for the English version of 'The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town' by
John Grisham is Oct 2006. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
In his most remarkable legal thriller to date, John Grisham explores small town justice gone horribly wrong in his first non-fiction book.
Ron Williamson was the first player selected from the State of Oklahoma in the 1971 big league draft. He said farewell to his hometown of Ada and set off to chase his aspirations of major league fame when he joined with the Oakland A's.
After six years, he returned, his aspirations dashed by an injured arm and vices including alcohol, drugs, and women. He started exhibiting symptoms of mental illness. He moved in with his mother after being unable to maintain a job, sleeping on her couch for 20 hours a day.
Debra Sue Carter, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada, was raped and killed in 1982, and the police were unable to solve the case for five years. They had suspicions about Ron Williamson and his associate Dennis Fritz, for reasons that were never explained. When the two were eventually apprehended in 1987, they were accused of capital murder.
The prosecution's case was based only on the testimony of jailhouse informants and convicted individuals, since there was no tangible proof. Dennis Fritz received a life sentence after being proven guilty. Ron Williamson received a Death Row sentence.
This book will startle you if you think that in America, you are innocent until proved guilty. This book will bother you if you support the death penalty. If you think the criminal justice system is just, this book is going to make you very angry.