The Innocent Man

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town is a nonfiction book written by John Grisham, and his first outside the legal fiction genre. He tells the story of Ronald 'Ron' Keith Williamson of Ada, Oklahoma, a former minor league baseball player who was convicted in 1988 of the rape and murder of Debra Sue Carter in Ada and sentenced to death. After serving 11 years on death row, he was exonerated by DNA evidence and other material introduced by the Innocence Project and was released in 1999. Ron Williamson has returned to his hometown of Ada, Oklahoma after multiple failed... attempts to play for various minor league baseball teams, including the Fort Lauderdale Yankees and two farm teams owned by the Oakland A's. Although Ron had promising skill, an elbow injury inhibited his chances to progress. His big dreams were not enough to overcome the odds of making it to a big league game. His failures lead to, or aggravate, his depression and problem drinking. Early in the morning of December 8, 1982, the body of Debra Sue Carter, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress, was found in the bedroom of her garage apartment in Ada.
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