Innocent Man by John Grisham Essays -- essays research papers

The innocent man is the story of Ron Williamson who was unjustly convicted of murder and spent twelve years on death row before being exonerated by DNA evidence. Ron Williamson was born in Ada, a small town in Oklahoma. His future looked bright when he was young and he was an exceptional athlete who was drafted by the Oakland Athletics. After an unsuccessful career in the minors Ron Williamson became a drug addict and an alcoholic whose life steadily got worse. He could not keep any job and he began spending most of his time in bars, and living with various friends. He soon accumulated a criminal record that included DUI?s, check fraud, and two rape charges that did not result in conviction. He became a heavy user of prescription drugs on top of his alcohol abuse, and after his baseball career ended he developed several mental llnesses and began to spend brief spans of time in mental hospitals. When a waitress who worked at a bar he often frequented was raped and murdered he became a suspect. Eventually he was convicted of the crime which he did not commit and was sentenced to death. A friend of his, Dennis Fritz was also wrongfully convicted as an accomplice and sentenced to life in prison. It was a terrible ordeal that Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz suffered being wrongly convicted of a murder. They both spent 11 years in prison, fritz serving a life sentence and Williamson on death row, locked up with heartless killers and treated like an animal. The book also has a subplot revolving around the abduction of another girl in Ada who to this day has never been found. Two men, Tommy Ward and Kurt Fontenot were convicted of a rape and murder and are currently serving life sentences. Although no concret... ...tem. It is unbelievable how lax, inadequate, and unjust the justice department can actually be in our country that we thought was civilized. It is ludicrous that many of the same people who convicted two innocent men of crimes and nearly got one killed are still working in the same offices even after they were proven unethical, and disrespectful to their duty. This book was not written help Ron Williamson or Dennis Fritz, they have already been exonerated and have received compensation. It was probably not written for money, John Grisham stated in a speech that he feared a lawsuit. (law.virginia.edu) This book was written to make a political point. Even though this book is somewhat biased against the death penalty it still should enrage an American citizen who believes that a person is ?innocent until proven guilty,? and ?has a right to remain silent.?