I’ve enjoyed quite a few books by John Grisham. I liked some of his early fiction a great deal. His more recent novels have been hit or miss for me. This Christmas, I received a copy of Framed, a new work of nonfiction he wrote in collaboration with Jim McCloskey, the founder of a nonprofit called Centurion Ministries that works to exonerate the wrongfully convicted. The book has ten chapters. Each tells the story of a wrongful conviction. I found the book interesting and also somewhat unsatisfying, for reasons I explain below. Ten chapters. Grisham and McCloskey each wrote five chapters. As noted above, each chapter is the story of a case. Some of the cases involved a single defendant, while others included multiple defendants. Some of the cases are well known in the criminal law community. Others have not attracted quite as much attention. Here’s a list of each chapter with a few details about each, including who wrote the chapter, the date of the offense, the most serious charge, and the disposition of the case: (Grisham) Danial Williams, Joe Dick, Eric Wilson, Derek Tick (a/k/a “The Norfolk Four”). 1997. Murder. The defendants were granted absolute pardons based on their claims of innocence. (McCloskey) Clarence Lee Brandley. 1980. Murder. An appellate court ordered a new trial, and the state declined to proceed. (Grisham), Levon Brooks and Kennedy Brewer. 1990 and 1992. Murder. As far as I can tell from the book, charges were dismissed during post-conviction proceedings. Another man confessed [...]
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