As someone who’s always been fascinated by true crime and has spent years working in the legal field (even dreaming of becoming a lawyer at one point), this book hit close to home. It’s a powerful collection of ten TRUE stories of wrongful convictions that will absolutely blow your mind. These aren’t just cases of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They reveal shocking miscarriages of justice caused by ignorance, and at times, outright dishonesty by police and prosecutors—real evidence ignored, fabricated motives, and theories twisted to fit their narrative.

The result? Innocent people losing decades of their lives behind bars—and, tragically, one who didn’t live to see his conviction overturned. It’s gut-wrenching, yet an essential read for anyone passionate about justice reform. If we’re going to fix our flawed system, books like this are crucial for shedding light on its deep cracks. Highly recommend!

If you’re searching for a great #NonfictionNovember read, I highly recommend this book! As expected, Grisham’s writing is superb, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the stories shared by Mr. McCloskey. Their combined efforts made this a compelling and impactful read. Fingers crossed for a sequel—hint, hint!

EnjoyBle and horrifying all the same. Definitely could tell the difference of who was writing the story but enjoyed just the same

#1 Bestselling author John Grisham (favorite author) returns with his second work of nonfiction following The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town (5 stars) with FRAMED — Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions in collaboration with Jim McCloskey, Centurion Ministries Founder (works to free the wrongly convicted).

This masterfully researched work offers a gripping and absorbing look at the injustices faced by victims of the criminal justice system in the US.

Their goal with this book is to raise awareness of wrongful convictions and help prevent more of them in some small ways. It is an effort to shine a light on some of the terrible and abusive tactics used by the authorities to convict innocent people.

About...

FRAMED consists of ten heartwrenching and harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. Stories of people incarcerated for life or given death sentences for crimes they did not commit.

These are accounts of innocent men who, despite being found guilty, displayed immense courage and resilience. They were forced to sacrifice their lives, friends, families, and spouses, spending decades in prison while the guilty party remained free.

My thoughts...

The authors brilliantly share the tragic stories of the innocent in FRAMED. From their battles and struggles amid corruption, racial injustices, testimonies, misconduct, and the injustices of the legal and court system when not there to support them.

Sharing the battles within a world of innocent until proven guilty. Told with sympathy, compassion, and the shocking truth.

Powerful and emotionally moving, we hear from all aspects of the justice system: corrupt cops, investigators, experts, attorneys, judges, witnesses, snitches, professional misconduct, withholding of evidence, racial discrimination, misapplied forensic science, false confessions, perjured testimony, procedural issues, witness intimidation, and much more about the long road to exoneration with disappointments, courage, and appeals.

Sadly, there are many more untold stories, and those cases are not overturned before it is too late. These stories are critical and timely, and each story deserves the attention it deserves.

FRAMED is a deeply emotional read, evoking strong feelings as you immerse yourself in these true stories of individuals caught in a web of deceit, lies, and injustice, wrongly accused and convicted.

From the gripping storytelling to the harrowing accounts of suffering and corruption, FRAMED is a powerful call to action for society to address these injustices and strive for redemption.

A highly recommended, compelling read of innocent Americans wrongly convicted. Superb work!

Thanks...

I'm grateful to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for providing a digital early reading copy for an honest review. I also purchased the audiobook, narrated by my favorite narrator (Michael Beck), and the authors, John Grisham (my favorite) and Jim McCloskey, for a superb listening experience.

The Authors...

JOHN GRISHAM: A bestselling writer, attorney, politician, and activist widely known for his legal thrillers. When he’s not writing, Grisham serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and of Centurion Ministries, two national organizations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. Much of his fiction explores deep-seated problems in our criminal justice system.

JIM MCCLOSKEY: Founder of Centurion Ministries, the first organization in the world devoted to freeing the wrongly convicted. Since its establishment forty years ago, Centurion has freed seventy individuals, all of whom spent decades in prison serving life or death sentences for the crimes of others. McCloskey has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. His memoir, When Truth Is All You Have: A Memoir of Faith, Justice, and Freedom for the Wrongly Convicted, was published by Doubleday in 2020.

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My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Oct 15, 2024
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It’s hard to say I enjoyed this book. It’s a tough, very real look at the world of wrongful convictions. Ten cases are presented that will open your eyes and break your heart. While “enjoyable” isn’t the right word, this is a must-read. It’s compelling and powerful with great writing by Grisham and McCloskey. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author, for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I think I would have enjoyed one longer story versus several shorter stories. There were not enough details for me to care as much as I wanted to...

Wow. This book was powerful. It was a hard book to read and it took me a while to get through it, but only because I was so sad and angry through most of the chapters. John Grisham and Jim McCloskey do an amazing job with giving these men and women a voice and in some cases they were given justice when they didn't receive it in life. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I am forever changed.

I'm very glad this book exists because these stories deserve to be told and heard, but the writing was a little simplistic for my tastes.

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Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey is a non-fiction book about egregious miscarriages of justice and State-sponsored perjuries. Mr. Gishham is a best-selling author, this is his first non-fiction book. Mr. McCloskey is a former naval officer, corporate consultant, and the founder of Centurion Ministries which fights to overturn wrongs and free the innocent.

This book is frightening, it shows how easily corrupt police officers, attorneys, and judges can tilt the scales of justice their way. Once that’s done, the full power of the state can come down on an innocent person, usually for political reasons.

In Framed by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, each author writes five stories of injustice. Mr. Grisham’s are page-turning narratives of cases that local and national media have previously covered. Mr. McCloskey’s stories center around the ones that Centurion Ministries fought, while they lack Mr. Grisham’s style, they more than make up with insider’s perspectives and nuance.

I didn’t find the book as astonishing as the title suggests, but more enraging, alarming, and terrifying. Many of the stories take place in Texas and systematic racial bias is one factor that seems to repeat itself. these events didn’t happen during reconstruction, but during my lifetime – it isn’t easy to believe. These convictions however apply to everybody, half the convictions in the book are average white people.

All of the stories show the lengths authorities will go to avoid admitting that they made a mistake, avoid embarrassment, or not pay settlements, and that includes executing innocent people. Relying on The shady “experts”, jailhouse snitches, ignoring evidence and common sense are dramatized over and over again.

These are great stories, and after some of the latest books I read by Grisham (The Exchange for example) which, frankly, disappointed me, it’s good to see him back in top form. This book makes a good case against the death penalty, especially with DNA evidence and abuses which are being uncovered.

This novel is addicting, entrancing, and horrifying. Each chapter is a new foray into a profoundly unsettling recount of racism, a corrupt justice system, and lives broken by an undeserved guilty sentence. This will keep you up at night.

I had to take this chapter by chapter and sit with each story for a while before committing to the next. However, it kept my attention! I would recommend this book to anyone who binges true crime documentaries (like me), eats up true crime podcasts (like me), and cares deeply about justice (like me). John Grisham and Jim McCloskey should be proud.

Thank you, NetGalley and Doubleday, for the eArc!

This novel describes the history of 10 true convictions of men sent to prison for life or death row based on lies, intimidation, threats, rewards to prisoners for lying and suppressed evidence at trials by the legal system.
This is an eye opening novel and reveals the flaws of some people we are suppose to trust. The subject matter is upsetting.

In this non-fiction work, Grisham and McCloskey account 10 different cases where an individual was wrongfully convicted and often on death row. The stupidity, corruption and coercion that is detailed is just insane. I’m sure this is just a small sample of cases like this and kudos to the authors for bringing it to the readers.

BOOK: Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
AUTHOR: John Grisham & Jim McCloskey
PUB DATE: October 15, 2024, by Doubleday
PAGES: 368
RATING: 5 STARS
GENRE: True Crime

A H U G E Thank You to @netgalley, @Doubleday, and the authors for gifting me an advanced digital in exchange for my honest review!

QUICK & SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: Like many, I’m a true crime junkie, and I’ve become very passionate about cases involving innocent parties being found guilty. These 10 stories take you through what happens to men who were wrongfully convicted. It’s infuriating to see innocent lives spent behind bars – some for most of their lives. - missing out on time with loved ones and having their freedom taken away. This book is something everyone should read to understand how difficult and long the process can be to prove innocence once wrongfully convicted. It definitely makes you think that this could happen to anyone. It could even happen to you if you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. It shows just how valuable and integral organizations are such as Centurion Ministries and The Innocence Project. This is excellent to listen to on audio. Be sure to pick it up the next time you’re taking a long road trip or just doing chores around the house. YOU WON’T WANT TO SKIP THIS ONE.

I read through three of the recounts of innocent victims convicted of crimes they did not commit. I was unable to read any more as the ineptness and racism in each crime turned my stomach as they should to anyone who reads this book. I can say that if true crime and proving the innocence is something you would read, this book would be number one on the list.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

That was very emotionally grueling. I can not imagine how the actual people and their families felt during their ordeal. The idea of a human deliberately doing something like what happened in these stories out of ego, arrogance and hubris is disgusting. No matter where you fall on the idea of execution, this is one book that will make you think.

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.