The Innocent Man by John Grisham

Innovative, Grisham has entered the field of non-fiction. Thoroughly researched ala Grisham, he has condensed years of fact into an interesting and easy to follow story type publication. Focusing around the life of Ronald 'Ron' Keith Williamson, Grisham covers his birth to his death.

An aspiring baseball player, Williamson gets involved with the wrong crowd in Ada, Oklahoma, the town in which he is born and raised. Drinking, smoking and drugs do not help his career. Although he made it to a minor leqgue team of the New York Yankees, his inauspicious pitching record made him eligible for the first cut.

When a young cocktail waitress is discovered murder in her apartment above a garage, Williamson becomes a suspect. The police are so convinced that he did it that, according to the book, they do not seek further suspects despite Ron's consistent denials.

Grisham researches the investigation, the trial and the conviction. He describes life in the various penal institutions aqs well as the medical help needed to assist Williamson in maintaining his sanity. Appeals are rejected and Williamson comes within hours of being executed.

Finally, a judge assigns his chief investigator to review the case and after seeing merit to a retrial, halts the execution. Years after being convicted and sentenced to death, Ron is exonerated and becomes a free man.