Book Review: An Innocent Man by John Grisham

Prolific courtroom crime novelist, John Grisham, makes his first foray into non-fiction with, "The Innocent Man."

The well-researched book is an account of Ron Williamson, who was wrongly convicted of murder in 1988 and spent 11 years on Oklahoma's death row before advances in DNA technology proved him innocent. It's a startling and disturbing story about America's justice system gone wrong, the deplorable living conditions on Oklahoma's death rows, and the often sadistic guards employed to watch these inmates.

A Small Town Baseball Hero

"The Innocent Man" tells of promising small town high school athlete, Ron Williamson, who signs a contract with the Oakland A's just out of school in 1971 -- a hometown baseball hero. It chronicles his festive send-off, his failure to meet the discipline and skill levels needed for the "big league," and his bouts with depression and schizophrenia after his release from first the A's and later the Yankees organization.

The Usual Suspects

By 1982, Williamson, is unemployed, living back with his parents in Oklahoma, and spending most of his days sleeping on the couch. When he's not at home, he's wandering the neighborhood, acting "strangely," and drinking loudly in the local bars.

When neighbor, Debbie Carter is brutally murdered, Ron becomes one of the "usual suspects" -- at the exclusion of some basic routine police work. The local police and prosecutor dog him until they finally arrest him for the murder, five years later.

Trial and Conviction

The state's case against Williamson is riddled with errors. There are coercion, false witnesses, and overlooked and suppressed evidence, not to mention Williamson's deteriorating mental state. Still, he is convicted on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to death.

Released

The reader lives the frightening, unhealthy, and hopeless living conditions of death row along with Williamson and we watch the prisoner descend more deeply into madness. Only after eight years in prison and just five days away from the death chamber does he receive a new trial. Eighteen months later, after thousands of hours of labor by his pro-bono law team, he is released after DNA testing excludes him from the evidence found at the murder scene. The event touched off a frenzy of media attention. Unfortunately, Williamson was not to enjoy his freedom for long. He died of cirrhosis of the liver just five years after his release.

Grisham Gets Involved

Grisham, in his afterward, relates that he was unaware of the Williamson case until he read Ron's obituary in the New York Times. The author became intrigued with the story and spent five years talking to Williamson's sisters, lawyers, fellow inmates, jailors, and neighbors.

"The Innocent Man" is a compelling book. Much like Sister Helen Prejean's 1994 novel, "Dead Man Walking," it makes the reader question the justice in America's death penalty statutes. Because it is a non-fiction work, the book tends to drag a little in the middle -- no fictionalized suspense to hold the reader's interest -- but the reversal of Williamson's conviction and the drama surrounding it more than make up for this lull. I, for one, hope that this will not be Mr. Grisham's only non-fiction work.

Shop for you own copy of "The Innocent Man" on Amazon.com.