Janet’s Book Nook

John Grisham

John Grisham’s first attempt at non-fiction writing chronicles the life of Ron Williamson, a mentally challenged man, in the small town of
Ada, Oklahoma in the early 1970s. Grisham takes his readers through the triumphant early life of Ron Williamson as a baseball player and hero and ends with the mental deterioration that lands him on death row for a rape and murder he did not commit. The purpose of the book seems to be the injustices of wrongful conviction, death penalty states and a justice system that is wrong in so many ways. He details the injustices that were perpetrated by a small town legal system that wanted so desperately to prove their case that they fabricated witnesses, changed test results and ignored suspects.  I think that anyone who has dealt with mental illness in their family will walk away with another feeling. The injustices that keep mentally challenged individuals incarcerated for many years longer than necessary because of their inability to help mount their own defenses. Mr. Grisham shows the challenges faced by Mr. Williamson’s family in getting him the mental help he needed while he was incarcerated. He tells of the mental challenges that, when untreated, gave the state of
Oklahoma so many reasons to keep Mr. Williamson incarcerated. In the end he tells of the release and death of Mr. Williamson after a life that started out so right and ended up so wrong. This book is a certain page turner and often stirs up feelings of sadness and anger.