Book summary

In John Grisham's first nonfiction book, he disinters the appalling details of a miscarriage of justice in Oklahoma. After a short disappointing career as a major league baseball player, Ron Williamson returned to his hometown of Ada, moved in with his mother, and began to lose his mind. When a young cocktail waitress was raped and murdered, the local police decided to target the mentally unstable Williamson. Using coercive methods and the flimsiest of evidence the District Attorney railroaded Williamson, took advantage of his paranoia and his blind public defender, and eventually sent him to Death Row. With his typically gripping prose and his extensive knowledge of the legal system, Grisham exposes a particularly awful instance of corruption in the legal system.