Murder and injustice in a small town

As a high school student, John Grisham was my favorite author. He was a younger, fresher writer who had interesting stories to tell, unlike the "great american fiction" that had been forced down my throat in English class. Now a junior in college, revisiting John Grisham for the first time in nearly four years has revitalized my interest in law and justice, evoking the same feeling as it did on that same did in 10th grade when opened to the first page of "A Time To Kill."

Two weeks ago and now 435 pages later I closed the book on two innocent men, wrongly convicted of rape and murder, just as the district court of Pontotoc County closed them book on them years ago, sentencing one to death and the other to life in prison. As I reflect, I am unable to comprehend the levity of being sentenced to die for a crime I did not commit. Could you imagine standing before a jury as an innocent man while listening to them administer the death penalty? To me, it is unfathomable.

I've never been able to give a straight answer as to my beliefs when it comes to the death penalty, and even after reading this book, I still can't. But I can say that I am appalled about what can happen in a court of law; junk science, bad police work, arrogant prosecution, and lying snitches removed from the jail cells and promised bargains if they talk. Let's just thank God for the discovery of DNA testing.

"God help us, if ever in this great country we turn our heads while thsoe who have not had fair trials are executed. That almost happened in this case."

-Judge Frank H. Seay, presiding District Court Judge who granted Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz a new trial