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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Moderate violence — a murder and its investigation; death row
Language
Some
Moderate profanity
Sexual Content
None
No sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Mild — Ron's mental illness was accompanied by some substance use
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
The injustice — systematic; Ron's mental illness making him an easy target; the death row years; the eventual exoneration
What this book is about
Ron Williamson was a former minor league baseball player in Ada, Oklahoma — a man whose life fell apart through mental illness and bad luck. He was convicted of the murder of a young woman and sentenced to death. The Innocent Man is John Grisham's only nonfiction book — a devastating examination of how the American justice system can destroy an innocent person.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
A real wrongful conviction — nonfiction
Death row and the mentally ill
The American justice system's capacity for catastrophic failure
John Grisham nonfiction — his only nonfiction book
Reader Verification
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