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NEW YORKERS AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY: LONG ISLAND CHAPTER
ABOLITIONIST READERS WANTED!: JOHN GRISHAM AND “THE INNOCENT MAN” BRINGS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO A WIDE AUDIENCE..WITH YOUR HELP
Do you love to read thrillers? Not sure how to “get involved” in the anti-death penalty movement, but would like to, even with a limited time committment? Do you enjoy spending time in the library or local Barnes and Noble?
Host a book discussion/ group! John Grisham’s latest book, released this month, is his first work of nonfiction and explores the issue of innocence and the death penalty with the excitement for which his writing is renowned. It is a perfect opportunity for those of us in the abolitionist community to get our message out to a wider audience.
Suggestion: Ask your librarian if he/she can arrange for your library to add “The Innocent Man” to their monthly book guide, to get a discussion going, or to host a speaker on innocence and the death penalty (NYADP can provide you with these). Let Colleen know at 516 849 2363 what you will be doing, if you need any help, if you’d like NYADP to contact your library, or if you’d like to get involved!!!
READING GUIDE AVAILABLE FOR YOUR GROUP!!!
The Virginian Interfaith Center has put together a reading guide, both for faith and non-faith groups. Download and distribute at : http://www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org/media/TheInnocentMan.pdf
ABOUT THE BOOK, from the Virginian Interfaith Center:
John Grisham’s “The Innocent Man” , 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 systemis fair, this book will infuriate you.
You can buy the book from the progressive bookstore, Powells, and support Long Island for Malachy at the same time. Click here to see the book. Political contributions are not tax dedudctible.
Filed under: Anti-War, Babylon Politics, Books, Death Penalty, Electronic Voting, Political Websites, reform, social & economic justice, To Study Up On Nonviolence, US Politics Tagged: | Uncategorized
Grisham’s Book is only Half the Story …Above Title on Journey Toward Justice John Grisham wrote “Compelling and Fascinating”. Please consider this Book Review for paper and Spread The Word : I heard so much about John Grisham’s Book the Innocent Man and wanted to know more about the case and the other innocent man, Dennis Fritz. So, I read Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz, Publisher Seven Locks Press 2006 ISBN 1931643954 and his Memoir touched my 62 year old heart I thought you may be interested in the book and story. I wrote a review about it. Here it is :
Dennis Fritz wrote of his plight with elegance. He was accused, convicted and imprisoned for 12 years for a crime he did not commit. Reading about his ordeal that examins the many mistakes and deceptions that led to his conviction and 12 year incarceration, makes you think this can happen to just about anyone. He was a school teacher and a family man before being accused. I was touched by the total amount of injustice that he received. A captivating story on both personal and more importantly legal level. The 12 years in prison he immersed himself in an intense study of the law and wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense. He wrote in a way I felt his frustrations, anger and happiness and gave me great insight into a flawed justice system. Read his book and find out why he followed a certain Diet of his, sad true and amazing He writes about how he never Blamed the Lord He solely relied on his Faith in God to make it through. I was amazed how he worked diligently seeking his Freedom and how his Faith kept him emotionally stable during his time in prison. Extraodinary book by a extraordinary Man. A Heartfelt Story