preview

Book Review: The Story Of Debra Sue Carter

analytical Essay
879 words
879 words
bookmark

A town called Ada in Oklahoma was the home of Debra Sue Carter, a young and beautiful waitress. On a winter night in 1982, Debra Carter was raped and murdered in her apartment. An investigation is held but leads nowhere until weak evidence points toward Ron Williamson. Williamson resides in Ada, he is known for being a nuisance. But that wasn’t always the case for Ron, in high school he was on top of the world. Ron was a gifted athlete in baseball, he was drafted into the minor leagues and from there he started on his journey to become a part of the majors. But unfortunately the major leagues weren’t in Ron’s future due to an injury. Now in adulthood, Ron has been on a downward spiral. His life is consumed by clubs, drinking, and drugs.
Night after night, Ron continues to do what Ron does. It isn’t uncommon if he spends so time in the local jail, normal for just being a public nuisance. One night Ron meets and befriends Dennis Fritz, who is also leading a rather miserable life in a small town. Both of the men are lonely and come together for company.
At one point in the novel, Carter’s potential murderer is Glen Gore – has a history violence against women. But the lead detectives on her case – Dennis Smith and Gary Rogers – rather quickly dismiss Gore as a suspect. Over five years later, in 1987 Williamson and Fritz are arrested for the rape and murder of Debra Carter and both were charged with capital murder. Even without physical evidences, the prosecution’s case was solely built upon the basis of snitches testimonies in the jail, flimsy evidence, and forced “dream confusions.” Ron Williamson was sentenced to death row and Dennis Fritz was given life in prison.
Throughout the whole novel, the reader can easily see the aggressiv...

... middle of paper ...

...roughout our country, especially in small towns. The likelihood of Williamson’s and Fritz’s story of happening in a city is rather unlikely. This is because in a city there is more people to point the finger at and not everybody has heard of you.
In conclusion, this novel was about an unfortunate conviction of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz and the abuse of power in Ada. Innocent Man, kind of sort of has a happy ending, both of the men are released but the damage was already done. This novel has shown me that even though in our country one is innocent until proven guilty, there are some justice systems in our country that don’t exactly follow that. I have learned that sometimes it is better to lawyer up (aka shut up) to avoid a lot of headaches even if you didn’t commit the crime. The novel is rather on the depressing side but the legal outcome can be satisfying.

In this essay, the author

  • Narrates how debra sue carter was raped and murdered in ada, oklahoma, in 1982. ron williamson, a gifted baseball player, started his baseball career in the minor leagues, but the majors weren't in his future.
  • Analyzes how ron continues to do what he does. he spends so much time in the local jail, normal for just being a public nuisance. one night, ron meets and befriends dennis fritz, who is also
  • Analyzes how carter's potential murderer, glen gore, was quickly dismissed by the lead detectives on her case. williamson and fritz were arrested for the rape and murder of debra carter and charged with capital murder.
  • Analyzes how the reader can easily see the aggressive and misuse of power in the ada police department and the prosecutors. interrogations would go for hours on end with on breaks causing the suspects to come under stress.
  • Opines that being incarcerated for years caused irreversible damages to ron williamson's psyche, even though he had a history of mental illness.
  • Narrates how ron williamson and dennis fritz filed a civil case for wrongful conviction against the city of ada.
  • Analyzes how grisham shows us that desperation to convict a killer can cause an abuse of power.
  • Analyzes how the people ada were able to convict the men they did. their idea of justice is that you guilty until you are proven innocent, but even after proved innocent your life is changed forever.
  • Opines that if williamson and fritz understood their constitutional rights, they could have avoided the fights they were faced with in being charged with the rape and murder of debra carter.
  • Opines that innocent man has shown them that being knowledgeable of their rights can save them from a world of hurt when being falsely accused.
  • Concludes that innocent man is about an unfortunate conviction of ron williamson and dennis fritz and the abuse of power in ada.

Let Our AI Magic Supercharge Your Grades!

    Get Access