John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, is his most extraordinary legal thriller yet.

In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory.

Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits—drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.

In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.

With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.</p>

【作者簡介】

約翰•格裏森姆（1955— ）

美國當代著名作傢。

1981年畢業於密西西比大學法學院，而後在密西西比州執業近十年，專長於刑事辯護和人身傷害訴訟。1983年當選為州眾議員，任職到1990年。

自1988年齣版第一部小說《殺戮時刻》以來，約翰•格裏森姆每年齣版一部小說。他的作品在全世界銷量突破三億冊，長期居於《紐約時報》暢銷榜前十名，被翻譯成四十種語言，其中九部小說被改編為電影。

曾獲英國圖書奬終身成就奬（2007）、美國國會圖書館創作成就奬（2009）和哈珀•李法律小說奬（2011，2014）等奬項。

【譯者簡介】

於霄

華東政法大學副研究員，律師。譯著有《在世界與我之間》、《我知道籠中鳥為何歌唱》、《正義的慈悲：美國司法中的苦難與救贖》和《誓言：奧巴馬與最高法院》等。