The verdict: A painfully slow, heavy, tiring and boring legal manuscript. Give it a skip if you are used to the taut thrillers
that are a trademark of John Grisham. Only "The Chamber" by the same author is comparable to this book in its 'snail paced ness’. The innocent man was touted as an extraordinary legal thriller, John Grisham's first attempt at non-
fiction. Ron Williamson is a promising young baseball player, the first from the state of Ada to receive a call from the major league of 1971. He signs for the Oakland A's and leaves his hometown to chase his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he returns, his dreams shattered by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs and chasing girls. He begins to show signs of senility and unable to keep a job, he moves in with his mother. In 1982 a 21 year old cocktail waitress in Ada , Debra Sue , is murdered .After five years the police are still clueless about the killer and for reasons still not clear , they suspect Ron and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two are charged with capital murder in 1987. Based on fabricated evidence and junk science Dennis is given life sentence and Ron sent to death row. This account of the criminal justice system of America will shock you, but that doesn’t change my opinion, the book is a torturous waste of time .All I can say is that non-fiction is a genre best
avoided by John Grisham in the future, and the book, best if avoided by you.