The Innocent Man Essay

The Innocent Man by John Grisham is a nonfiction book published in 2006. It tells the stories of multiple men convicted of crimes they did not commit, with the prime focus being on Ron Williamson and the other man convicted of the same murder, Dennis Fritz. The book details the rape and murder of Debra Sue Carter, covers Williamson’s childhood and history of mental illness, then goes on to the interrogations and convictions of Williamson and Fritz. The interrogations lasted off and on for four years. The interrogations were a legal disaster, and the trials a farce. Witnesses who had not witnessed or overheard any of the things they claimed to were called to testify against the defendants, experts made false claims on the stand, and the two

He had had run ins with the police before, usually for crimes such as public intoxication and minor harassment, probably due to his mental illness, and the police focused in on him as a prime suspect because of this. His illness caused him to act inappropriately and police took this as a sign of guilt. Solely because of his onetime friendship with Williamson, Dennis Fritz also became a prime suspect. Although the two had ceased being friends after an incident in Texas in which Fritz’s car was stolen, the fact that they had once associated was held against him. No one seemed to remember seeing Fritz at the club it was believed Debbie Carter met her murderer at. He had a previous drug conviction that he had hidden from the school he worked at, when this was uncovered he lost his job and the conviction was used as “proof” that he was capable of killing Debbie

In desperate need of help he acted irrationally and like a stereotypical “crazy person,” influencing the detectives, jury, judge, and all who encountered him. The dream confession was certainly a push for prosecution and conviction, as it was presented as a valid confession. That may have been a mistake on Williamson’s part, but it should not be used as justification for his conviction or police conduct. He was not competent to make any sort of statement, especially not one portrayed as a dream. I do not feel that Fritz did anything to contribute to his