The Innocent Man by John Grisham is a very disturbing non-fiction book about our judicial system, a heinous crime and a wasted life. It showed how several innocent men were convicted of murder and that in reality, one is really guilty until proven innocent rather than the other way around. It is a very sad documentary about a talented high school athlete who really ruined his life with drinking, drugs and got framed for murder, and developed mental and physical illness.
It's unbelievable how these innocent men spent 12 years in prison while the appeals courts kept upholding the verdict in spite of all the bungling and lack of evidence in the first trial. The main thing I learned from it is if you ever get brought in for questioning by the police, don't answer any questions without an attorney present, even if you are innocent and have nothing to hide! The fact that this really happened makes horrific.
I recommend this to anyone interested in legal thrillers, the justice system, or prison life.
(Karen's review 3/09)
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Wow.... This sounds like a fantastic book... I used to read John Grisham books quite a long time ago and Im not sure why I stopped but I will definately be getting back into them again with this book. I have to say that my absolute favourite John Grisham book has to be The Testament.... Thanks for the great review....
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