January 29, 2007

The True State of C.S.I. Justice - New York Times

The True State of C.S.I. Justice - New York Times

Last night I finished reading the book An Innocent Man, John Grisham's most recent and first non-fiction book (Grisham is a former attorney). In it he traces the lives and wrongful conviction of two men for rape and murder of a woman in Ada, Oklahoma. He focuses most intently on Ron Williamson, a former minor league baseball player with a history of alcoholism, drug use and mental health problems who spent 11 years on death row until exonerated by DNA analysis.

The Innocence Project was involved in Williamson's case.

The book traces the frailties, biases and general incompetence of the criminal justice system in a small Oklahoma town and the courage and dedication of a Federal court judge, an Oklahoma judge and several attorneys who worked so hard to see justice done.

Grisham does a masterful job in simple narrative prose to produce a great book that should focus even more attention on getting things right in our criminal justice system.

1 comment:

Barbara's Journey Toward Justice said...

If you enjoyed The Innocent Man you may enjoy, what they call the companion book to "The Innocent Man". The Book is "Journey Toward Justice" by Dennis Fritz.This Book Changed my mind about the Death Penalty and other issues. It is also well written. I feel the more people know about these issues maybe some things will change. I also started a Blog because of it. At one time I wrote this about the book I read.... Who And Where Is Dennis Fritz, You may say after reading John Grisham's Wonderful Book "The Innocent man", Grisham's First non-fiction book. The Other Innocent Man hardly mentioned in "The Innocent Man" has his own compelling and fascinating story to tell in "Journey Toward Justice". John Grisham endorsed Dennis Fritz's Book on the Front Cover. Dennis Fritz wrote his Book Published by Seven Locks Press, to bring awareness about False Convictions, and The Death Penalty. "Journey Toward Justice" is a testimony to the Triumph of the Human Spirit and is a Stunning and Shocking Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder after a swift trail. The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is all about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's was his co-defendant. Ronnie Williamson was sentenced to the Death Penalty. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison. Both Freed by a simple DNA test, The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" tells half the story. Dennis Fritz's Story needs to be heard. Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man from Ada Oklahoma, whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975. On May 8, 1987 while raising his young daughter alone, he was put under arrest and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder. Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns. Dennis Fritz is now on his "Journey Toward Justice". He never blamed the Lord and solely relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.