Dec 19 2007
John Grisham and The Innocent Man
John Grisham found inspiration to write The Innocent Man while reading an obituary.
Quotable Quotes:- Sloppy police work
- A lot of innocent people in prison
- Stop and think twice about the death penalty and the system that we have
- The bible belt so in love with the death penalty. It doesn’t make any sense
- Morally opposed to state sanctioned killings
Fun facts about the book you won’t find in the interview I posted above. Ron Williamson’s lawyer was legally blind. He didn’t have an assistant to help him sort out evidence. He couldn’t review the forensic evidence and other important documents. No wonder Williamson was convicted and sentenced to death. Years later, Williamson had the benefit of hiring a lawyer with eyesight and his conviction was overturned.
Now who helped him go to prison? The blind lawyer or his blind judgement to continue with this lawyer…Hey, Im just saying.
I’ll have info on that tomorrow. Things aren’t always what they seem. Things are seldom black and white.
I have always been anti- death penalty. I’m also anti- abortion. Why do these views seem to be on opposite sides? I’m not even religious; I just believe killing in general is wrong and barbaric. Until we have a perfect justice system (which is almost impossible), we need to ban the death penalty. I still don’t think it is right, but at least we wouldn’t execute innocent people. The Exonerated is a great example of innocent people on Death Row. The abortion debate doesn’t make sense either. A fetus is not part of my body. I hope one day we are civilized enough to realize this.
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Okay, I got carried away and responded before I watched the entire video. After listening to Grisham, I definitely want to read this book. I like how his point of view changed as he evolved as a lawyer. It is interesting how he never aspired to become a writer and might never have become one without being a lawyer first.
I’m going to read the book as well. I’ll post my thoughts when I do read it - which won’t be till early next year because I’m working on The Devil’s Playground first, then I’ll finish 30 Days to Justice. If you happen to read it before I do, please send me your thoughts.
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Having just finished reading “The Innocent Man”, which I found compelling, I was left with a sense of disbelief at the seemingly incompetent and corrupt local law enforcement and legal system. I was surprised that nobody seemed to have lost their job and that District Attorney Bill Peterson still held that position today.
My interest piqued I sought out more information about the case and found a website set up by Mr Peterson addressing John Grishams book. His section on “Exposing The Truth” is a must read for those who wish to be able to take a balanced view of the investigation and prosecution of Ron Williams and Dennis Fritz. He is clearly bitter towards Grisham, and I don’t accept several of his ascertains and their significance, but I do think he makes some very valid points regarding “The Innocent Man” and how the facts are spun for dramatic effect. The bottom line is that 2 men were undoubtedly wrongly convicted so there had to be problems with the system, but while John Grisham would leave you with ideas of incompetence, corruption and a vendetta against the 2 defendants, I now believe this to be far from reality.
The Innocent Man puts the Ada law enforcement and legal system itself on trial and puts the case for the prosecution; it’s only fair that you should also hear the case for the defence before making up your mind.
http://www.billpetersondistrictattorney.com/
Thank you for visiting my site, John. I haven’t read The Innocent Man yet. When I start working on 30 Days to Justice, I will begin reading true crime. For now, I’m reading either commericial fiction or literay fiction. When I do read The Innocent Man, I will certainly check out Peterson’s site.
“Grisham would leave you with ideas of incompetence, corruption and a vendetta against the 2 defendants, I now believe this to be far from reality.”
Again, not having read the book the above strikes me. Even your own post demonstrates that their was incompetence (i.e. two men wrongly convicted) and corruption (i.e. problems with the system).
Bottom line for me is this: though I understand Peterson’s need to defend his position, I seriously don’t care. All that matters to me is that two men were wrongly convincted of a crime and sentence to death. I don’t give a shit about the circumstances behind it.
I feel that in order to fix the problems in the system you have to look at the circumstances behind it in a pragmatic way, without sensationalising or personalising. It wouldn’t make a very good book though!
That’s true John. From what I hear, Grisham’s intention was not to fix the problem, but to do what he does - to tell a story.
Auria,
thanks for directing me here from Diane’s blog. I spent some time reading Bill Peterson’s website. It does not change my appreciation for the bottom line in this one case, two men convicted who did not commit THIS particular crime.
Grisham told a great story, complete with dramatic effect. The WSJ article which features prominently on Peterson’s site bordered on entertaining. Complaints that Grisham is not a journalist, coming from someone who is not a journalist, gave me a chuckle.
Thanks for commenting, Lisa. I’m going to read an Innocent Man next.