This fall Doubleday will publish Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions, John Grisham’s first nonfiction title since 2006’s The Innocent Man, the publisher announced in a new release.
Framed is written in collaboration with Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, an organization devoted to freeing wrongfully incarcerated people; McCloskey inspired the character Cullen Post in Grisham’s 2019 novelThe Guardians.
The book “tells 10 true stories of recent miscarriages of justice,” according to Doubleday. “These are the stories of people incarcerated for life or given death sentences for crimes they did not commit—and who fell afoul of eyewitness misidentification, phony forensic analysis, fake or extorted confessions, jailhouse snitches and the misconduct of police, prosecutors, and judges.” Five of the stories are written by Grisham; McCloskey is the author of the other five.
“Since I published The Innocent Man in 2006, I have wanted to write more true stories about wrongful convictions,” Grisham said in a statement. “From a pure storytelling perspective, they are incredible because the drama has so many layers: Suffering, corruption, waste, faith, perseverance, and, hopefully, redemption—it’s all there in every case. From a moral perspective, it is imperative for a society to face and correct injustice.”
Framed is slated for publication on Oct. 8.
Amy Reiter is a writer in Brooklyn.
