Every so often, we recommend a good read – usually a single book or novel that deals with capital punishment in some way.
Today, we’re recommending a series of books by a single author: John Grisham.
John Grisham on the Death Penalty
For his personal take on the death penalty, check out Mr. Grisham’s op-ed piece last year in USA Today: “Stop the execution madness in Arkansas: John Grisham,” or watch his interview by Bill Moyers online here: John Grisham on Wrongful Death Penalty Convictions from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Three John Grisham Books Dealing with the Death Penalty
His books dealing with the death penalty include:
1. The Chamber
From his website comes the following description of The Chamber:
In the corridors of Chicago’s top law firm:Twenty -six-year-old Adam Hall stands on the brink of a brilliant legal career. Now he is risking it all for a death-row killer and an impossible case.Maximum Security Unit, Mississippi State Prison:Sam Cayhall is a former Klansman and unrepentant racist now facing the death penalty for a fatal bombing in 1967….
2. The Confession
From his website comes the following description of The Confession:
An innocent man is about to be executed. Only a guilty man can save him. For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn’t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn’t care. He just can’t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake….
3. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (non-fiction)
From his website comes the following description of The Innocent Man:
In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory.
Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits—drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.
In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.
With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.
If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.