TammyRich
29th December 2007, 00:02
In John Grisham's 19th book the story is centred around Ron Williamson a man who is convicted of a crime he hasn't committed and spends 11 years in prison for, most of that time on Death Row. A young woman was found murdered and raped but the last person to see her after she left a bar never gave hair specimens or fingerprints but when interviewed later pointed the finger at Ron who was mentally unstable and was known to visit the bar in question. It was later found out that he supplied drugs to the police. The police were convinced 2 people had committed the crime so accused Ron's friend Dennis Fritz too. Neither were at the bar that night.
Grisham shows how small town American cops once convinced they had the right people built up a case around them with the minimum of evidence such as hair analysis, jail house snitches, dream confessions and by exhuming the body of the deceased just to check the victim's palm print.
He also intertwines the stories of other Death Row prisoners wrongly convicted whom Ron mixes with as he endures years of mental torture. Due to refusal by the authorities to allow him to be assessed his mental conditions go untreated and he develops extreme paranoia and schizophrenia. Prisoners on Death Row who are judged to be incompetant cannot be executed!
Grisham writes clearly and compellingly. This is the quickest book I have read this year since Harry Potter. I became engrossed in Ron's story and also his family. He was at home with his mother Juanita on the night of the murder but she died just before the trial. She went to the police station to make a recording of her statement so it could be played at a trial but it was never produced by the police.
I highly recommend it to all Grisham fans and anyone who wants to know why we shouldn't support the death penalty.
Grisham shows how small town American cops once convinced they had the right people built up a case around them with the minimum of evidence such as hair analysis, jail house snitches, dream confessions and by exhuming the body of the deceased just to check the victim's palm print.
He also intertwines the stories of other Death Row prisoners wrongly convicted whom Ron mixes with as he endures years of mental torture. Due to refusal by the authorities to allow him to be assessed his mental conditions go untreated and he develops extreme paranoia and schizophrenia. Prisoners on Death Row who are judged to be incompetant cannot be executed!
Grisham writes clearly and compellingly. This is the quickest book I have read this year since Harry Potter. I became engrossed in Ron's story and also his family. He was at home with his mother Juanita on the night of the murder but she died just before the trial. She went to the police station to make a recording of her statement so it could be played at a trial but it was never produced by the police.
I highly recommend it to all Grisham fans and anyone who wants to know why we shouldn't support the death penalty.