Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
By: John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
Narrators: John Grisham, Jim McCloskey, Michael Beck
Random House Audio
ISBN: 978-0385550444
Publisher: Doubleday
Publication Date: 10/15/2024
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
In his first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, #1 bestselling author John Grisham and Centurion Ministries Founder Jim McCloskey share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. Impeccably researched and grippingly told, Framed offers an inside look at the injustice faced by the victims of the United States criminal justice system.
A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty there is very little room to prove doubt. Framed shares ten true stories of men who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, wives, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free.
In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place, and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and the corrupt court system that can make them so hard to reverse.
Told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of overcoming adversity when the battle already seems lost, and the deck is stacked against you.
Praise
“Grisham does a service by elevating Jim McCloskey, who can inspire all of us to use our privilege in the service of those ensnared in the moral scandal we call a criminal justice system. . . . Years before the Innocence Project began showing Americans that their prisons hold countless people who have committed no crime, he was quietly gumshoeing his way through hard, obscure cases. Without him, it’s hard to imagine Serial or Making a Murderer or the rest of our current wave of prosecution-skeptical nonfiction.”
—The New York Times
“Framed is Grisham’s second foray into nonfiction and his storytelling skills are well-displayed here. McCloskey is founder of Centurion Ministries, which works to free the wrongly convicted. . . . [The book is] clinical, carefully assembling the stories of those wrongly imprisoned.”
—Associated Press
“The flaws and lethal errors that condemn innocent people in the American legal system have caused too many for too long to needlessly suffer. Jim McCloskey and John Grisham are towering figures in law and literature shining an urgent, compelling, and critically important light on the heartbreaking wrongful convictions that compromise our legal system and remain a national tragedy.”
—Bryan Stevenson, New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy
“Framed should come with a warning label: Be prepared never to look at the justice system the same way again. In this collection of ten shocking wrongful-conviction cases, each stranger than fiction, you’ll come away outraged by how easily so many prosecutions can and do run off the rails: investigative tunnel vision, coached witnesses, compromised jailhouse snitches, junk science, cultural bias, crooked prosecutors, and even biased judges. How grateful we all should be to John Grisham and Jim McCloskey—for raising the alarm and crusading for true justice.”
—Robert Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road
“In this essential collaboration, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey vividly demonstrate the need to run just as fast, if not faster, to exonerate the innocent as to punish the guilty. In ten shocking true stories, they not only convey the devastating impact of wrongful convictions on each affected person but also sound the alarm for all of us—there but for the grace of God, go I. These are remarkable stories of injustice that need to be told. And retold.”
—Preet Bharara, former U.S. Attorney and New York Times bestselling author of Doing Justice
“These ten stories—bitter, gritty, and heartbreaking—will astound you, will inspire you, will bring your blood up to a roiling boil. Here are crimes of egregious malfeasance, perpetrated by cops, prosecutors, and jurists, that often seem more sinister than the original crimes these authorities were supposed to impartially resolve. Grisham and McCloskey, writing in crisp, propulsive prose, remind us how much hard and thoughtful work we still have to do to make America’s legal system equitable, transparent, and fair.”
—Hampton Sides, New York Times bestselling author of The Wide Wide Sea
“The truth eventually came out in these cases, but that does little to lessen the impact of this sobering look at what happens when we turn a blind eye to injustice. A powerful and infuriating must-read about ineptitude and injustice in America’s legal system.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Gripping . . . Both men deliver a series of thoroughly researched spellbinders. The results are equal parts fascinating and infuriating.”
—Publishers Weekly
My Review
#1 Bestselling author John Grisham (favorite author) returns with his second work of nonfiction following The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (5 stars) with FRAMED — Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions in collaboration with Jim McCloskey, Centurion Ministries Founder (works to free the wrongly convicted).
This masterfully researched work offers a gripping and absorbing look at the injustices faced by victims of the criminal justice system in the US.
Their goal with this book is to raise awareness of wrongful convictions and help prevent more of them in some small ways. It is an effort to shine a light on some of the terrible and abusive tactics used by the authorities to convict innocent people.
About...
FRAMED consists of ten heartwrenching and harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. Stories of people incarcerated for life or given death sentences for crimes they did not commit.
These are tragic accounts of innocent men who, despite being found guilty, displayed immense courage and resilience. They were forced to sacrifice their lives, friends, families, and spouses, spending decades in prison while the guilty party remained free.
My thoughts...
The authors brilliantly share the tragic stories of the innocent in FRAMED. From their battles and struggles amid corruption, racial injustices, testimonies, misconduct, and the injustices of the legal and court system when not there to support them.
Sharing the battles within a world of innocent until proven guilty. Told with sympathy, compassion, and the shocking truth.
Powerful and emotionally moving, we hear from all aspects of the justice system: corrupt cops, investigators, experts, attorneys, judges, witnesses, snitches, professional misconduct, withholding of evidence, racial discrimination, misapplied forensic science, false confessions, perjured testimony, procedural issues, witness intimidation, and much more about the long road to exoneration with disappointments, courage, and appeals.
Sadly, there are many more untold stories, and those cases are not overturned before it is too late. These stories are critical and timely, and each story needs to be given the attention it deserves.
FRAMED is a deeply emotional read, evoking strong feelings as you immerse yourself in these true stories of individuals caught in a web of deceit, lies, and injustice, wrongly accused and convicted.
From the gripping storytelling to the harrowing accounts of suffering and corruption, FRAMED is a powerful call to action for society to address these injustices and strive for redemption.
A highly recommended, compelling read of innocent Americans wrongly convicted. Superb work!
Thanks...
I'm grateful to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing a digital early reading copy for an honest review. I also purchased the audiobook, narrated by my favorite narrator (Michael Beck), and the authors, John Grisham (my favorite) and Jim McCloskey, for a superb listening experience.
The Authors...
JOHN GRISHAM: A bestselling writer, attorney, politician, and activist widely known for his legal thrillers. When he’s not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
JIM MCCLOSKEY: Founder of Centurion Ministries, the first organization in the world devoted to freeing the wrongly convicted. Since its establishment forty years ago, Centurion has freed seventy individuals, all of whom spent decades in prison serving life or death sentences for the crimes of others. McCloskey has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. His memoir, When Truth Is All You Have: A Memoir of Faith, Justice, and Freedom for the Wrongly Convicted, was published by Doubleday in 2020.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 15, 2024
About the Authors
JOHN GRISHAM is the author of numerous #1 bestsellers, which have been translated into nearly fifty languages. His recent books include The Boys from Biloxi, The Judge’s List, Sooley, and his third Jake Brigance novel, A Time for Mercy, which is being developed by HBO as a limited series.
Grisham is a two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was honored with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction.
When he’s not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.
Grisham lives on a farm in central Virginia.
JIM McCLOSKEY is the founder of Centurion Ministries. He served in the U.S. Navy, patrolling rivers in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, and spent twelve years in international consulting. He has a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. Today McCloskey is retired from active oversight of Centurion, though he continues to pursue cases.
