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kstango 's review for:
The Innocent Man
by John Grisham
I picked up a John Grisham novel at a book sale, and it wasn't until after I brought it home that I realized it wasn't your typical Grisham work. Instead of a action-packed work of fiction, this book is almost biographical, describing the life of Ron Williamson, a man who was wrongly sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. While Ron is the main focus of the novel, several detours are taken to describe other cases bungled by the same cops and prosecutors, to give readers knowledge of Dennis Fritz (the other man convicted and then exonerated for the same crime), and to detail the work of so many lawyers, experts, and activists that helped clear Ron and Dennis's names.
Given that John Grisham is able to write bestseller after bestseller in the legal thriller genre, but knowing this was his first venture into nonfiction, I wondered as I started the book how he would approach a true story. My expectations were met, and then some. Grisham wrote in his Author's Note, "Not in my most creative moment could I conjure up a story as rich and layered as Ron's," and I think, while exaggerated, the point of the statement is true: Ron's story does almost read like fiction.
The villains of the story are almost cartoonishly evil, determined to bring down Ron and Dennis, though they lacked a shred of evidence. Putting two innocent men behind bars, one on death row, just to save face and attempt to bring closure to their small town, sounds like a drastic oversimplification until you realize just how deeply these men believed they could do no wrong. Arguably the worst offender was the DA, Bill Peterson, who coerced prisoners into giving false testimony, gave his hired 'experts' leading information so their inexact science would match his conclusions, and continued to insist Ron and Dennis were involved in the crime, even after DNA evidence exonerated them. Grisham is not shy about letting readers know just how low his opinion of this man is. Of course, Peterson sued for libel after this book was published, and of course, the suit was thrown out.
I also particularly appreciated how Grisham was able to portray Ron in such a light where you can recognize that while he was far from a saint, his issues were exacerbated tremendously by his mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement. Policemen, prison guards, attorneys, and judges alike neglected to give him any form of mental health treatment for far too long, and some even abused him worse due to his condition. The grisly details of Ron's downward spiral are not spared; my heart broke for the man who could have been the next Mickey Mantle, but ego, injury, and substance abuse turned this once-promising young man into a washed-up addict. And that's before he was even arrested for murder. Ron Williamson was by no means a hero, but Grisham never claimed he was one. As difficult as he may have been to be around, Ron's story is injustice incarnate. It is even more haunting than a work of fiction, because it really happened, and it is still happening to many others in America today.
This novel is difficult to get through if you're a bleeding heart like myself. But to me, that's all the more reason to pick it up and give it your time. We take our freedom for granted, and The Innocent Man reminds us just how many have had theirs taken away unfairly. Ron Williamson came within five days of being executed for a crime he did not commit. To think how torturous it must have been for him to count down the days until he was killed by the state, and then thinking of the countless others that suffered the same way, for whom justice never arrived, has made me feel an array of emotions that will surely stay with me for quite some time. Sometimes when I ponder a book after I've completed it, I view it with a more critical eye, but my perspective on this book is the opposite: The more I think on it, the better I think it truly is.
Given that John Grisham is able to write bestseller after bestseller in the legal thriller genre, but knowing this was his first venture into nonfiction, I wondered as I started the book how he would approach a true story. My expectations were met, and then some. Grisham wrote in his Author's Note, "Not in my most creative moment could I conjure up a story as rich and layered as Ron's," and I think, while exaggerated, the point of the statement is true: Ron's story does almost read like fiction.
The villains of the story are almost cartoonishly evil, determined to bring down Ron and Dennis, though they lacked a shred of evidence. Putting two innocent men behind bars, one on death row, just to save face and attempt to bring closure to their small town, sounds like a drastic oversimplification until you realize just how deeply these men believed they could do no wrong. Arguably the worst offender was the DA, Bill Peterson, who coerced prisoners into giving false testimony, gave his hired 'experts' leading information so their inexact science would match his conclusions, and continued to insist Ron and Dennis were involved in the crime, even after DNA evidence exonerated them. Grisham is not shy about letting readers know just how low his opinion of this man is. Of course, Peterson sued for libel after this book was published, and of course, the suit was thrown out.
I also particularly appreciated how Grisham was able to portray Ron in such a light where you can recognize that while he was far from a saint, his issues were exacerbated tremendously by his mistreatment at the hands of law enforcement. Policemen, prison guards, attorneys, and judges alike neglected to give him any form of mental health treatment for far too long, and some even abused him worse due to his condition. The grisly details of Ron's downward spiral are not spared; my heart broke for the man who could have been the next Mickey Mantle, but ego, injury, and substance abuse turned this once-promising young man into a washed-up addict. And that's before he was even arrested for murder. Ron Williamson was by no means a hero, but Grisham never claimed he was one. As difficult as he may have been to be around, Ron's story is injustice incarnate. It is even more haunting than a work of fiction, because it really happened, and it is still happening to many others in America today.
This novel is difficult to get through if you're a bleeding heart like myself. But to me, that's all the more reason to pick it up and give it your time. We take our freedom for granted, and The Innocent Man reminds us just how many have had theirs taken away unfairly. Ron Williamson came within five days of being executed for a crime he did not commit. To think how torturous it must have been for him to count down the days until he was killed by the state, and then thinking of the countless others that suffered the same way, for whom justice never arrived, has made me feel an array of emotions that will surely stay with me for quite some time. Sometimes when I ponder a book after I've completed it, I view it with a more critical eye, but my perspective on this book is the opposite: The more I think on it, the better I think it truly is.