Spotlight: The Death Penalty and Popular Media

In a country where a person is suppose to be "innocent until proven guilty," the following recent books will shock and amaze readers.

Weeks before its release, Chasing Justice  already has renowned voices singing its praise – Sister Helen Prejean describes this harrowing tale as “captivating” and a “catalyst for reform.”  Publishers Weekly says “readers familiar with similar travesties...will be outraged anew, especially at the authorities' deliberate disregard of another suspect, linked to the crime by an eyewitness and DNA evidence.”

In full title, Chasing Justice: My Story of Freeing Myself After Two Decades on Death Row for a Crime I Didn’t Commit is a first-person account of the wrongful conviction of its author, Kerry Max Cook, that sent him to Texas’ death row for twenty-two years.  Cook, one of the longest-tenured death-row prisoners to be freed, chronicles his tragic and inspirational struggle to stay alive inside a brutal prison system, and tireless fight to prove his innocence and gain his freedom.  Chasing Justice is set to be released on February 27, 2007.  Preorder you copy today!

Journey Toward Justice and The Innocent Man

Companion books published together, Journey Toward Justice and The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town tell the tragic story of the murder of Debbie Sue Carter in the small town of Ada, Oklahoma, and of the two men, Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, who were wrongfully convicted of the crime. Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice, was sentenced to life in prison and spent 11 horrific years behind bars before being exonerated by DNA evidence. The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, John Grisham’s book first non-fiction, recounts the struggle of Fritz’s co-defendant, Ron Williamson, who spent 11 years on death row and even came within five days of execution, before DNA evidence proved he was innocent.

The Mistake

Ada, Oklahoma. Five years after the heinous crime, Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were arrested and convicted. Williamson was sentenced to death while Fritz was sentenced to life in prison. Both men were innocent, but false testimony from jailhouse informants and junk science were enough to put both men away.

After countless appeals and much hard work, the men were exonerated and set free 11 years later when DNA evidence proved that they were innocent.

Dennis Fritz – Journey Toward Justice

Dennis Fritz was a middle school science teacher and father of a 12 year old girl when, in 1987, his life was turned upside down, forever changed.

When police surrounded his mother’s house, arrested him, and transported him back to Oklahoma, he did not even know who Carter was, let alone who had murdered her.

Like many innocent people wrongfully convicted, Fritz was shocked when he was pronounced guilty and sentenced to life in prison. In prison, Fritz struggled to survive amidst the violence, witnessing two murders. But he never gave up hope. He used his time to research the legal system, struggling to gain back his freedom and his family.

After countless appeals and grueling hard work, Fritz succeeded with help from The Innocence Project and the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System. DNA evidence exonerated him and proved that the perpetrator had, in fact, been the prosecutor’s principle witness at trial. After his release, Fritz worked to regain his life, physically and emotionally. He moved back to Kansas and began to re-establish relationships with his mother and daughter.

Instead of trying to forget what happened to him, Fritz has delved into his memories from his time in prison to share with us his Journey Toward Justice. The book sends a powerful message, forcing us to open our eyes to the reality and consequences of mistakes in the legal system, showing the emotional trauma of the wrongfully convicted, and, ultimately, inspiring with the determination and endurance of one innocent man.

Fritz has taken his story directly to policy makers. He has spoken before Congress and earlier this year he spoke to the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice at a meeting held in Redwood City about the misuse of jailhouse informants. Currently, Fritz is on a national book-signing tour.

Please join our virtual book club discussion of Journey Toward Justice. (Coming Soon)

John Grisham – The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

John Grisham, the extremely accomplished author of countless best-selling legal thrillers, had no intention of writing a non-fiction novel. That was, until he saw Ron Williamson’s obituary in the New York Times, which simply read, “Ronald Williamson, freed from death row, dies at age of 51.”  Driven by a desire to understand how an innocent man could be left on death row for 11 years before exoneration, Grisham decided that he needed to know and would share this story with the rest of the world.

Fueled by his own fascination with the dozens of errors in the trial, Grisham interviewed more than 100 people, including Williamson’s sisters and Fritz, in order to tell this compelling story as accurately as possible.

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town has been called “shocking,” “enthralling,” and “his strongest legal thriller yet.” Grisham’s extensive legal knowledge and passion radiate as he tells the powerful story that Grisham admits he could never have even imagined himself. This novel is an eye-opener and compels the reader to re-think his or her faith in the American legal system.

According to Grisham, “Even if you support the death penalty, you cannot support the death penalty system as it stands in the U.S. My one hope is that people realize this system we have is simply too unfair to continue.”

Please join our virtual book club discussion of The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. (Coming Soon)

Or, host your own book club to discuss Grisham’s first non-fiction thriller.  Download a Discussion Guide and/or Study Guide!