John Grisham and Jim McCloskey has written compelling stories of wrongful convictions and the complexities of our justice system. These stories are a hard pill to swallow as the authors highlight the flaws in the legal system, encouraging readers to reflect on the broader implications of justice and morality. Makes me think of how many more out there are wrongfully convicted without any hope of ever getting their justice they rightfully deserved.

This is a story about 10 different cases where innocent people were convicted of crimes due to a dirty justice system. DNA that was either ignored or purposely hidden/destroyed. Judges who were racist or working with a corrupt District Attorney in order to jail an innocent person just to solve a crime.

It literally broke my heart reading these individual stories about how others worked so hard to free them before they were either executed or in jail for life. With attorneys working hard to free them and for John Grisham to write about these heinous acts.

A good read!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Great read and interesting true stories of those who have been wrongly incarcerated. This is a book of hope amid hopelessness for so many. The work and time that goes into finding truth for those wrongly imprisoned is beyond belief. A good read and eye opening. thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

When I was in law school, we had a lot of fun with John Grisham's fiction and his use of ethical violations to fuel his plots. This book wasn't fun at all; it was brilliantly researched, laid out, and executed, but I got more and more disturbed with each story. So many of the stories didn't even make sense -- how could the police decide to arrest someone based on such flimsy evidence, sometimes people with an alibi who ended up being excluded by DNA or other means? Many of the accused pled guilty to either stop the harassment or avoid the death penalty, when the evidence showed they shouldn't have even been arrested. They lost decades, and many of their families didn't believe their innocence. They didn't get to live the lives they should have been able to live, and many of them ended up with the real killer never being found.
Of course, the real killer was never found. Resources are limited and the police wouldn't have been able to spend that much energy going after multiple people. So the families of the original victims never got justice while these other people were victimized by the state.
I thought this was going to be something more ambiguous, but many of these stories were clear from the beginning. This is important to acknowledge so we can try to keep this from happening again.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

This was such a difficult book to read; I kept needing to put it down and let my brain process the incredible injustices that happened in these cases. It's so important for us to be aware of these cases, and not just assume that a guilty verdict tells the true story always.

Framed tells the stories of ten horrific cases of wrongful convictions., and the circumstances that led to them. Grisham and McCloskey tell of supposed experts who fabricated evidence, law enforcement determined to make an arrest at any cost, and prosecutors who would do anything to win a case even when all evidence points against the guilt of the charged defendant.

You can't help but wonder just how many of these are forgotten once the person has gone to prison for a crime they didn't commit. You will walk away from this book with such an appreciation for the people who donate their time and money investigating and litigating these cases, fighting for the truth to come out and innocent people to be freed.

Thank you so much to Doubleday for this book to review!

I am a huge Grisham fan, and his first non fiction book The Innocent Man is still one of my favourite books and I think about it regularly.
This was truly astonishing.
I spent the entire book with my mouth agape and my head shaking in disbelief.
These stories are unbelievable, until you tell yourself the events really happened.
The story of the Norfolk Four is one of those stories that will linger with you, there needs to be a Netflix documentary about it. It would be laughable if it weren't real people's lives. And the worst part is knowing Grisham and his coauthor would have had so many more stories just like these ones.
This book will anger you, shock you, and sadden you so deeply for the people who were wrongly convicted.
Highly recommended.

Somehow this review got lost on Netgalley. This book is a must read for all people interested in justice in a sometimes unjust system. Grisham and McCoskey tell 10 stories that will literally have you lose your mind that these people were ever convicted of a crime. You see corrupt police officers, racism, and power being abused by people that we should trust. From the opening pages of this book you will be astounded that the man convicted was ever convicted and as you turn the pages you see more and more people convicted on the same case that had nothing to do with but were forced to give false confessions. Yes, its a real thing. Thank goodness for the Innocence Project which just helped get a man out of jail who also was falsely convicted of a crime in a place he was no where near. The local police just needed someone to convict so they picked this man because he was gay and Native American, I highly recommend reading one story a day so you can process each story and demand more from our justice system. It's truly sad to think of the time these people spent in prison and missed out o life because of corrupt politicians and police. It should never have happned and know that one day it could be you. Demand more!!! Thank you John Grisham #netgalley and #doubleday for the read.

Framed by John Grisham is a compelling exploration of real-life wrongful convictions, co-written with Jim McCloskey. Grisham, known for his legal thrillers, brings his storytelling skill to these ten true stories of individuals who were wrongfully imprisoned and fought tirelessly for exoneration. The book exposes the flaws in the justice system—misconduct, racism, corruption, and unreliable testimony—that lead to devastating outcomes. Gripping and impeccably researched, Framed offers a sobering look at the uphill battle for justice and the lives irreversibly altered by wrongful convictions.

John Grisham is so well known for his legal thrillers that he hardly needs any introduction, but he does occasionally dabble in nonfiction, taking a particular interest in cases that see our nation’s criminal justice system used to incriminate, convict, and sometimes kill innocent people. Jim McCloskey is a minister who founded Centurion Ministries, an organization devoted to freeing people who have been wrongly convicted of heinous crimes, who has also written a popular memoir. It only makes sense then that the pair would team up for this book that, through 10 true tales, highlights some serious flaws in the ways that American law enforcement functions at every level.

Thanks to the way the Police and our courts are portrayed in popular media, most of us rest easy thinking that the amount of innocent people sent to jail or, even worse, put to death for crimes they didn’t commit is miniscule. Not so, say Framed‘s authors before they lay out a series of thoroughly detailed stories proving their point.

In every one of the murder cases presented here, it becomes very clear that the Police have the wrong person, but both they and the D.A. refuse to look elsewhere, even when the real killer effectively falls into their laps. Exculpatory evidence is repeatedly withheld, often not coming out until months later, with prosecutors and sometimes even judges knowingly hiding facts that exonerate the people before them. Even more alarming is the number of documented instances in which evidence supporting their theories is simply made up out of thin air, a crime for which no one involved ever seems to be punished.

Each of the authors takes on writing duties for 5 cases, and while McCloskey’s inside knowledge of those he tackles means they are rich in detail, Grisham’s natural writing talent means his are slightly more engagingly written. That said, the material presented in all 10 is so shocking and outrageous, readers will be glued to the page either way.

Framed certainly doesn’t paint law enforcement in a very positive light, especially in Southern states like Texas which are heavily represented here, but it does offer up that not all officers and court employees are dishonest. In many cases, the truth is ultimately revealed when new, more honorable people are installed in these positions of power and finally release pertinent evidence, though sadly this doesn’t happen often enough.

Reading Framed will have your blood boiling at the horrible ways that these supposed “officers of the law” and the teams of grifters that orbit and support them directly and indirectly inflicted severe emotional and physical suffering on innocent Americans, many of whom were current or former members of our Armed Forces. In one particularly egregious example detectives constructed a ludicrous story that led to the wrongful arrest of 7 Navy sailors despite all of them being excluded by DNA evidence.

This may wind up being the most important book in either author’s career and despite how angry one gets while reading it, it shouldn’t be missed. It shatters our faith in the reliability of our court system and drives home the need for urgent reforms to ensure stories like these become as rare as we previously believed them to be. Framed should be required reading for all Americans, and perhaps especially those hired to protect and serve.

I ended up buying this audiobook as well as reading some of my physical ARC because I found the audiobook worked better for the overall story but I liked having the physical copy to review details. All that to say, I got very into this book. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. Any innocent person who is incarcerated or, even worse, executed, is a blight on the entire criminal justice system and highlights our need for real reform. I was horrified by the actions of the prosecutors and police featured here, although I do not think they represent all of the State. But I do admire the work of the individuals and agencies who are working to rectify not only the wrongs endured by each person whose story was told in this book, but also anyone else who is also wrongfully incarcerated.

This book was hard for me to get through. Not because of the writing, which was very compelling and meticulously researched, but the subject matter of all wrongful convictions, and how corrupt officers and blatantly ignoring evidence put the wrong people away.
I'm not sure what was worse, reading about the cases themselves or how the wrong people were put in jail sometimes for decades before their convictions were overturned. In most cases without even an apology for the injustices they received.

In all honesty, I didn't fully finish all the stories, They all started to blend, and after reading a lot of the stories in one sitting it was making me a bit depressed. I do think these were well-written, and important stories that need to be told, I just couldn't read any more right now. I may pick this back up later and try and read them in small doses.

Thank you to Doubleday for sending me a physical copy.

Captivating!!!

Thank you NetGallary for an early review copy of Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey!

This book filled with true stories of innocent men and women falsely accused of crimes they didn’t commit and it moved me!

I believe each and every one of these stories! The amount of corruption between law enforcement and judges goes unchecked. A means of prosecution for this type of blatant fraud and corruption must be enforced! Lives are renewed and they go home and sleep soundly in their beds each night. They must be held accountable!!!

To say these stories fascinated me is an understatement. Framed is well written and thought provoking.

I would love to get involved and help! 70 people freed of wrongful convictions by Centurion is 70 too many!

This book was Terrific and everyone should read it!

Well done gentlemen!

No spoilers with my review! I gave this book 5 stars!

This is an incredibly important book. It almost reads like fiction, although sadly it is true. It is a collection of 10 people who were innocent yet convicted of serious crimes that they did not commit. I was familiar with one of the chapters as I had seen it in the production of “The Exonerated” many years ago. How these convictions were obtained is truly shocking. It is unbelievable that this could and most likely still happens. I would urge everyone to read this book if they were truly interested in the legal system and how innocent people can be caught up in a situation such as this.

This book was infuriating: Ten true stories of people who were wrongfully convicted. The luckiest were in jail for a decade or so; the most unlucky was executed. It is chilling to realize these people could be anyone - this could happen to my kids, to your kids, to anyone.
I've learned some things that I hope I never need to use. First, the police can lie to suspects they are interrogating. Second, people under stress and duress confess to crimes they didnt commit all the time. And third, no one should ever believe the testimony of a jailhouse informant. They have everything to gain by pleasing the prosecutors and almost nothing to lose by lying. I still believe most police officers, investigators, and district attornys are honest and just trying to find the truth, but, man, are the bad eggs bad.
I read Grisham's "The Innocent Man" years ago and it has always stuck with me. I was engrossed by this new non-fiction work as well. Half of the accounts are written by Jim McCloskey and they aren't quite as well-written as Grisham's accounts, but are still worth reading. All the stories were new to me except the last one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for gifting me a digital ARC of this nonfiction book by the collaboration of John Grisham and Jim McCloskey. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

John Grisham teamed up with the founder of Centurion Ministries, Jim McCloskey, to take an in-depth look at ten stories of innocent people wrongly convicted. Each chose five stories and wrote them independently from the other. Grisham's stories were pulled from the headlines and investigation, whereas McCloskey's were from his company's personal experience trying to get these wrongful convictions overturned.

Each of these stories are horrible - what could be worse than an innocent person going to jail for decades or put to death for something they had no part in? When you read these stories, you will be hard pressed not to think - there, but for the grace of God, go I. Because so many of these people were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. What's so very disturbing is the callous attitude of all those that we entrust to do the right thing - the witnesses, the police, the prosecutors, the judges. While you certainly can't read these stories and whitewash everyone with the same brush, it's so sad that politics and saving face take priority over someone's life. This is a must read and should be mandatory reading for police academies and law students.

Thank you to NetGalley, Doubleday, John Grisham, & Jim McCloskey for providing this advance reader copy (ARC) of this book. I'm providing my honest review.

A miss for me. It's well researched, well written, and tone-deaf in 2024. I was aware of the Innocence Project but not Centurion Ministries, they both do good works and are needed in a society with an imperfect justice system. Still the best in the world but where there are people involved there is crime and mistakes, even in those we entrust our lives to. The stories provided are interesting and sad. They show good people done wrong and bad people unpunished. The years of Antifa & Black Lives Matter riots are behind us, thank goodness. Defund the police didn't work and crime soared. "Reforming" the justice system has let criminals run free or enter a revolving door scenario. If this book had been published in 2020 it might have made more of a social justice splash. In 2024 it's not as effective.

#NetGalley #Doubleday #Framed #socialjustice #prisonreform #judicalsystemreform #JohnGrisham #JimMcCloskey #CenturionMinitries

Framed is an eye opening account of multiple people wrongly convicted. It feels like a call to action, an invitation to take a stand and demand a truly fair justice system.

It's moving and emotional! A must read.

I fell in love with John Grisham's writing years ago when I read The Street Lawyer. Then when he wrote The Innocent Man he pulled me in a didn't let me go. He has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are part of the story. It feels so real and it's good and scary at the same time. LOL...This was another book that blew my mind. It's so hard to read these books because it amazes you that innocent people can go to jail for a crime they didn't commit. I couldn't imagine being wrongfully accused. These 10 cases will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride but it's worth the ups and downs. John and Jim know how to tell each of these 10 cases story in the perfect way. You will not be able to put this book down. I would definitely recommend this book. I also recommend anything John Grisham has written.


Thank you NetGalley and Doubleday Books | Doubleday for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

What does it feel like to look at injustice? What does it say that so much goes unremarked and unnoticed by a society when so many live behind bars and who have been stripped of everything that they value and love to the point that they feel separated from any compassion and humanity? In this book John Gresham and Jim McClosely hold that uncomfortable mirror up to the reader and the world we live and pose these, and many more uncomfortable and disquieting questions, to the reader. I found myself shocked by so many of the stories here and not just by the crimes these individuals were so wrongfully accused of, but the the many different stages of the legal system that failed to do justice by them.

If stories of true crime capture your interest, these are stories that must be read because they show that justice is something we must all strive to find, hold and protect. We must always seek out not just the price of guilt by the Truth behind actions and deeds. We need to always questions and seek understanding and never presume guilt until proven innocent, but remain impartial and look towards how evidence is sought out and collected and fight to preserve the power of a just and legal system foe all.

This was an interesting read. I love all things true crime related. I like to think that I'm pretty accurate at looking at the facts available and figuring out whether or not someone is guilty. So it's interesting to read about these cases, most 20 plus years old, only to discover how corrupt and inaccurate people and science can be. I can only imagine how many other cases have yet to be discovered. It's heartbreaking and devastating. I really enjoyed getting a look at these cases and appreciate how well written this book is.