Wow. These stories are shocking. Full of police, lawyers, judge, and others ineptness. Too stubborn to accept their mistakes and admit they were wrong. Years taken away from innocent people as evidence was not followed but bias instead. Not surprised to see TX on the list. The book only has six examples but there are so more. I found the Grisham written ones the best probably because I like the way he writes and explains things.

For readers who:
- like/appreciate nonfiction
- read true crime with a purpose
- understand (or suspect) the justice system has flaws

John Grisham is notorious for his criminal fiction, but his foray into nonfiction alongside Centurion's Jim McClosky is one of the most powerful books I've read this year.
In FRAMED, the authors alternate telling stories of innocent people who were incarcerated by inept/prejudical/racist/etc law enforcement + judges, often for many, many years. They missed their children growing up, the chance to build a career, and so much more.

It's so, so important to draw attention to these stories. These are not outliers - every day, law enforcement let's bias interfere with judgement, and innocent people suffer.

I was enthralled (and horrified and saddened, and all the feelings in between) by these stories. One woman was arrested and wrongly convicted when her daughter was two; she was released from prison when her daughter was EIGHTEEN. She missed her daughter's entire childhood - all because law enforcement targeted her with false/no evidence.

If you believe we need to build a better justice system, read this book. Then follow Centurion (and also The Innocence Project) and support their mission.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

John Grisham, renowned for his legal thrillers, teams up with Jim McCloskey, a pioneer in the innocence movement, to present Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions. This compelling nonfiction work sheds light on the harrowing experiences of individuals who were wrongfully convicted and the arduous battles fought to clear their names.

Framed recounts ten true stories of men who were unjustly imprisoned, highlighting the flaws and failures within the criminal justice system. Each narrative delves into the personal sacrifices these individuals made, from losing decades of their lives to the emotional toll on their families.

The protagonists of these stories are real people whose lives were upended by wrongful convictions. Grisham and McCloskey bring their stories to life with empathy and precision, portraying their struggles and triumphs in a deeply humanizing way. The authors also highlight the tireless efforts of lawyers, advocates, and organizations dedicated to overturning these miscarriages of justice.

Grisham’s narrative prowess combined with McCloskey’s firsthand experience creates a powerful and engaging read. The writing is clear and compelling, making complex legal proceedings accessible to a broad audience. The authors’ ability to convey the emotional weight of these stories without sensationalism is particularly noteworthy, allowing readers to fully grasp the gravity of each case.

Framed explores themes of justice, resilience, and the profound impact of wrongful convictions on individuals and their families. The book also serves as a critique of the criminal justice system, highlighting systemic issues such as prosecutorial misconduct, inadequate defense, and the fallibility of eyewitness testimony. Through these stories, Grisham and McCloskey advocate for reform and greater accountability within the legal system.

Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant book that underscores the importance of justice and the human cost of its failures. Grisham and McCloskey have crafted a work that is both informative and deeply moving, making it essential reading for anyone interested in the criminal justice system and the fight for innocence.

Highly recommended for readers who appreciate true crime, legal dramas, and stories of resilience and redemption.

This book will make you stop and think how easily anyone could be in the same position as the people were in this book. Our legal system failed these wrongfully convicted individuals while the true criminals roamed free. The stories will chill you for many different reasons, including corruption within our legal system. It is hard to imagine being incarcerated at all, but especially being there for something you know you did not do.

This collection of ten stories told by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey will stick with you long after you finish it. It is astounding just how messed up some of these cases were. You will not forget this book after reading it. I am still sitting here a little dumbfounded.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

All these stories were told in such a beautiful way. I felt so much anger at how, in most cases, law enforcement officials decided to focus on one individual despite the evidence or lack of evidence just because they felt like they needed to quickly find someone to blame. I was angry, disappointed, and cried throughout the book—not just for those who lost their lives but also for those who were wrongly convicted.

While I was familiar with many of the stories in the book, I was surprised to learn some new details. The authors did a fantastic job in presenting these stories, which kept me engaged and eager to learn more. I have no words to express how amazing this book is. It not only sheds light on these tragic cases but also inspires further learning about the work of organizations like the Innocence Project.

Thank you for allowing me to read an early copy of this fantastic book! If you want to read a well-written true crime book, check this out!

This was a hard to read book. Seeing the errors and the blatant disregard for human rights and due process was maddening. The authors said they had to pick 10 cases but there were multitudes to choose from is heartbreaking. If you read this book and don't feel anything but disgust and outrage, I would be extremely surprised.

Framed is an account of 10 wrongly convicted individuals and the blunders on behalf of the prosecution that got them there. I cannot believe all this was allowed to stand. Yet, I can since the geographic area, and era, where most of the cases take place is notorious for placing people in the fast lane to the death penalty. I cannot imagine the amount of time and money, shortened for this book or it would be too heavy to lift, not to mention the psychological suffering of those wrongly convicted. The book is absolutely infuriating.

While I notice most of these cases initially took place prior to 1980, thank goodness for DNA analysis now, I am sure unfortunately there are ongoing miscarriages of justice not covered in these pages. The emergence of forensic science and stronger regulations for crime analysis have given more fuel for the fire for the innocent but humans are still human, errors happen and things get lost.

The story The Fire Doesn't Lie hit me the hardest. No spoilers but left me baffled.

My heart goes out to the individuals in these pages and their families, not to mention the victims' families who never got closure. This is the kind of stuff they rarely show on those lawyer and cop shows. It's also incredibly sad that even when someone is finally proven innocent, it still takes them weeks or even months to actually be released.

Thank you to Netgalley and Doubleday for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

True Crime fans and Grisham fans alike will enjoy this collection of stories of those who faced unimaginable injustice at the hands of those who were supposed to protect them. These stories will have you questioning how anyone could make such a terrible mistake. Grisham and McCloskey takes turns recounting the detailed stories, and both do it well. While at times the narrative can be slowed down by the numerous court decisions and legalese, slightly more that a typical Grisham novel, the authors try to be as concise as possible without leaving out important details. Each of these stories could be their own book or movie, and readers will no doubt want to investigate one or two further.

I received an ARC through "NetGalley" and I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

This is a compilation of stories which are written by two different authors. Each one tells a story of where a person or multitude of people were erroneously convicted and sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. Each story tells of the crime that resulted in each conviction. It then goes into detail how law enforcement, prosecutors and even judges worked to prevent disclosure of evidence which would have exonerated the. The police made up their mind that the party was guilty and made no effort to find if someone else was responsible. Most of the cases bring to mind the time of the good old days where individuals that were considered outsides became the main suspects.

This is definitely a book that you need to read and will leave you questioning how many other similar instances are still around.

Riveting, sad, stupidity, loss of trust, prejudice people, lacking the ability to say your wrong, downright asinine are just a few of the things that went through my head as I read these stories. Well written, researched, heartfelt care and determination are what make this book. You'll never look at the world again through rose-colored glasses. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this galley. It was a difficult, heart wrenching read, but shared a very important message; one that stays with the reader long after the final page has been read. A must read for anyone with a conscience.

Several weeks ago I read an opinion piece in the New York Times that argued for the abolishment of the death penalty. While it was a very well written piece, I was still undecided on the issue.

Then I read Framed, co-written by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey. As someone who was raised to always obey a police officer, believe in our judicial system, and uphold the concept of innocent until proven guilty, this book was shocking. Each author wrote 5 different stories of individuals who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. There was police corruption, witnesses tampering and judicial misconduct just to name a few of the misdeeds.

This book has changed my opinion on the death penalty. Is the death penalty ever justified? That is a question that each individual has to answer.

I’m not looking to get political. I realize this can be a sensitive topic. Reading Framed can be an important source of information for anyone who is struggling with an answer.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. The publication date is October 15, 2024.

I have been a fan of John Grisham for a long time. I didn’t discover his first novel, A Time to Kill, until it’s second release after The Firm and The Pelican Brief (which I devoured) shot up the bestseller lists. Experts say to write what you know. Grisham certainly knows the law since he was a practicing attorney long before he retired to write full-time.

In this non-fiction work, Grisham teams up with Jim McCloskey, retired founder of Centurion, a non-profit organization dedicated to seeking the overturning of wrongful convictions. The two authors outline the facts of five cases each, telling in detail how mistakes were made and sometimes outright lies were coerced. Even in the face of clear evidence of innocence, some of the convicted never were exonerated. One of the men was even executed for something he didn’t do.

As I read the first chapter of Framed, I felt shocked at how badly the case was bungled, at how manipulative the police and the prosecutors were. It made me realize what lengths people will sometimes go to in order to avoid admitting that they made a mistake or how focused they get on one suspect and ignore all evidence that proves they have it wrong. I kept thinking it couldn’t get worse, but it always got worse.

Then I read the second chapter and the third. Chapter after chapter, case after case, all with a common theme—law enforcement and prosecutors so focused on manipulating the narrative to the detriment of the truth. It made me sad…and shocked…and angry that these kinds of things happen. In all of the cases, clear evidence is uncovered and ignored, sometimes for decades. This book is a testament to the fact that our justice system is far from perfect.

I don’t know that I could continue to fight as long as some of these defendants did. In so many of the cases, we read about confessions that were given just to stop the hours upon hours of interrogation, about suspects so sleep-deprived they start to believe they actually did what they were accused of. I cannot imagine being in their situations, let alone knowing how I would handle them.

I would never say that all police are bad. I won’t even say most are bad. Plenty of my friends and family include people in law enforcement. My grandmother was a clerk in the Circuit Court, so we learned very young what to do if we were ever stopped by the police. (And no, it was not to give her name. 😉) Knock on wood, I have never had a negative interaction with law enforcement. I also recognize that I come from a place of privilege to be able to say that.

I am not a huge reader of non-fiction. I sought this one out because John Grisham’s name is on the cover. It is worth the time you will spend on it. It can seem convoluted at times, but I feel like that’s the nature of these cases. Lover of true crime? Pick this one up. Believe in “truth, justice, and the American way”? Pick this one up. Think that these things could never happen to you? Definitely pick this one up. You won’t be sorry you did.

Framed is a collection of ten short stories based on the United States Judicial system. I use the word "stories" lightly as they are are all true wrongful convictions and the book written by best selling author John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries who has worked for 45 years trying to free the innocent parties to these and many many more wrongful convictions.

I read this book with fascination and incredulousness as these stories are completely outrageous as to how the interrogations and gathering of false evidence took place, from wrongful interrogations to judges who refused to be budged by the truth and "experts" in their fields who had done no more than take a very short course and clearly had no real knowledge of the subject.

It is completely outrageous how so many innocent people, families and lives have been ruined by these miscarriages of justice. A big well done to Jim and the lawyers and many others involved who fought on every occasion, but so much time and lives have been lost in the process.

I'm glad I read this book and hope perhaps that some of these stories may be made into movies or tv shows to bring to the forefront of more people's minds in the hope that things like this don't continue to happen.

Framed by Jim McCloskey and John Grisham is a book full of stories about men and women convicted of murders on basically no evidence and then spending years in prison before getting justice. Imagine stopping to ask a police woman for directions only to be arrested and charged with murder less than an hour later and spending the next 24 years in prison or going to wash the family laundry and stopping to get more quarters and the next day finding out the reason the cashier was nowhere around it was because he was murdered and when you call the police to tell them what you saw you soon find yourself arrested and blamed for his murder. This book is full of egregious examples of why it is okay to believe in the system but never in the people who run it. There were those who got arrested because they were black they have those who were arrested because there were white in those who were arrested just because they were convenient you will want to throw this book across the room it made me so angry and another reason why most people don’t trust the law or policeman. The saddest part of this book was the fact there were so many stories and it in no way got close to being most of them there’s so many innocent people in prison spending years in prison just because they don’t have access to good attorneys, they get lazy detectives or it’s a campaign year. I think John Grisham and Jim McCluskey did an awesome job with the stories in this book I promise you if the stories in this book don’t move you an outrage you, you need to get therapy… I am so serious. #NetGalley,#Double day books, #Jim McCloskey, #John Grisham, #framed,

I found "Framed" ten stories of wrongful convictions, a mind-blowing and absolute gripping read. The author's, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey each chose five meticulously researched and beautifully written stories of real people, locked up, some for decades. We should all be outraged by convictions based on ridiculous police investigations, jail-house snitches, junk science, and interrogations that are more like torturous breakdowns of the suspects ability to think. Writing "Framed" surely took incredible work and I thank the author's for this important book. I hope to see it sitting on the bestseller list for a long time. Thank you Netgalley, publisher and authors for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book.

This is a collection of true stories of wrongful convictions as told by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey. Each story has similarities: someone is accused despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, regardless of other evidence they are still pursued as the guilty party, appeals are usually denied, and the reader is left wondering how the heck our justice system could so blatantly fail. What is significantly different are the endings. Each wrongly convicted person has a different outcome, some much more heartbreaking than others. Although these stories weren’t easy to get through, reading this seemed to fly by. By the fourth, fifth, even tenth story I was still blown away by the incompetence of those that are supposed to carry out the law and protect its citizens. Sad to say that so many of them took place in the very state I live it, although I’m not at all surprised.
My only complaint of this book was how at times someone was referred to by their first name and then in the next sentence by their last name. Some of these situations had so many people involved it was already difficult to keep track of who was who. Besides that, this was an easy 4 1/2 ⭐️. Highly recommend.
***Thank you NetGalley, Doubleday Books, Jim McCloskey, and John Grisham for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.***

Framed is a collection of ten true stories of people that have been wrongfully convicted of a crime. John Grisham writes five of the stories and Jim McCloskey writes the other five stories. Each story tells the story of someone that is wrongfully convicted of a crime. Many times law enforcement is trying to wrap up a case quickly and believes supposed "witnesses" without checking out their stories or the alibis that the convicted person may have. A lot of the stories have DNA to prove the wrongfully convicted person is innocent. You will be amazed as you read the stories and see how convoluted things can be when law enforcement is quick to judgement. Many of the people spent 20 plus years in prison before getting another trial that proved their innocence. Some of the people in these stories are still incarcerated hoping to get another trial. This is a very interesting book that is eye opening. I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review. #netgalley #doubledaybooks

The subtitle is spot on--astonishing! While these true stories were hard to read, what's even harder to take is how often the authors say this happens. Gripping and evocative. For fans of true crime or anyone wanting to learn more about the justice system and wrongful convictions. Truly unbelievable!

I've been a Grisham fan since I was a teenager, but I haven't loved his more recent books. I was really excited to find his second non-fiction book about wrongful convictions was coming out on October 15th. It was hands down the best Grisham book I've read in a long time! Thank you to Netgalley, Doubleday, John Grisham, and Jim McCloskey for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Framed.

John Grisham partners with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, a leading organization in exonerating innocent people who've been wrongfully convicted to tell the mind-bending stories of ten different wrongful conviction cases. The mental gymnastics that were required to keep up with the corrupt police and judicial practices, trumped up motives, and outright bias in just the first chapter alone made my brain smoke, and seriously question the way America does justice. I've read several books on this topic, and each and every one of these stories are important because they showcase the dire need for reform in the justice system that never comes. There are certainly people who should be imprisoned, but jailing just one innocent person for years, decades, or taking their life is an unconscionable "travesty of justice."

My thanks to Net Galley and Doubleday for allowing me this arc.

Framed is a college of previous wrongly convicted cases that were re tried with current technology and information. Very well written and information.