Wow.

I found my first John Grisham book not too long ago and enjoyed it very much. I received The Innocent Man shortly after that but did not open it until just recently.

As John Grisham's first non-fiction novel, The Innocent Man tells the story of Ron Williamson, a mentally troubled man, is accused of murder. Dennis Fritz, who knew Williamson from bars and late nights, was also accused and the two were convicted.

As the title states, neither one had anything to do with the murder and the book details the entire mess created by the Ada, Oklahoma police in what can only be described as the nearly successful attempt to frame these innocent men. The perversity of the legal system kept them in prison - Williamson on death row - for twelve years based on faulty evidence and fake witnesses. They are eventually exonerated, but twelve years is still a very long time to be in prison for nothing.

This is not a page-turner in the classic sense. There is no spine tingling suspense, nor fast paced action. There is only the methodical, almost plodding, listing of the injustices and facts that make up this wretched story. The book is well written and engaging. It is also absolutely enraging. You want to disbelieve everything that is detailed and say "this can't happen in America." But it did.

Grisham does not hide his disdain for the Ada police and prosecution - how can he? They deserve every bit. (Not that Grisham is petty; the facts speak for themselves.)

Christian beliefs mingle though the novel. Williamson is raised in the church and makes repeated attempts to turn back to God. He acknowledges his sins and mistakes and trusts God for forgiveness. And as always, not every Christian plays their part well. Some "good" people refuse to recognize Williamson and Fritz after they are found innocent, even the pastor and leaders of Williamson's former church fail in their Christian duty to accept him and his family. Again, Grisham is does not use his novel to "preach" against them but instead lets their own actions and words condemn them. He does include a few scenes of praise and worship with Williamson in church and in his sister's home that, although briefly told, convey the joy and "fun" Christians have singing gospel songs around a piano in the living room.

This case certainly gives ammunition to everyone working against the death penalty. How many innocent men have been put to death? No one knows. Some of the promotional pieces for the novel mean to make you rethink your views on the death penalty - or reinforce those already against. But I'm not sure if it is entirely successful on that item.

What we see is not so much a problem with the death penalty but the system that leads up to it. From biased detectives to lazy and incompetent legal maneuvers, the system is, at least here, broken. That may be reason enough to at the very least stay the executions of all death row inmates for DNA testing and a complete review of all other evidence is complete. Perhaps it would be best to do away with the death penalty completely to remove all chance of executing the innocent.

And I'm not even talking about moral reasons to do away with state sponsored executions. Many Christians have opposed them for years. To be fair, many Christians support the death penalty, too.

All death penalty discussion aside, The Innocent Man is an excellent novel and gives great insight into a legal travesty. I recommend reading it in small doses, that you don't get overwhelmed with indignation.