On October 10th, 2006, John Grisham’s first non-fiction book, The Innocent Man, will be released. The book is the compelling true story of Ron Williamson, a former hometown baseball hero of Ada, Oklahoma, who was convicted in 1988 of raping and murdering Debbie Carter. In 1999, Williamson was exonerated of the crime after serving eleven years on death row. In the context of this case, Grisham addresses many of the fundamental issues that surround the death penalty in the United States. He describes the poor legal representation that Williamson received and explores the mind of a mentally ill man. There are detailed accounts of life on death row and the execution process. In addition to being a fascinating and well-told story, the book shows how innocent people can end up on death row. Grisham has written numerous international bestsellers, including The Firm, A Time to Kill and The Pelican Brief. (The Innocent Man, Random House 2006). See Innocence and Books. A total of 123 people have been freed from death row following their exoneration since 1973.
