Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to be an ARC reader for "Framed".

This new short story collection, co-authored by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, prompts its readers to ask imploring questions of America's policing and justice systems. There are ten cases McCloskey and Grisham take turns laying out for readers.

Though each story is organized slightly differently, there’s a mission made true in the compiled volume. These authors pick apart evidence rather than focus as much on the wrongfully alleged perpetrators, which is a brilliant approach that comes across as putting the convictions themselves on trial. Each story is a lament: a scathing evisceration of prosecutorial and political misconduct, topped off with bleak glimmers of what could have been; what should have been, if the case had been handled properly.

The injustices of “justice” are laid out for readers like crime scene photos slide across an interview table. “Framed” slyly puts on trial the very trust (specifically, white) Americans are raised to have in police, in lawyers, in the government, elected leaders and “science”. It calls into question the very foundations of how investigations are handled and crimes litigated.

This book is a collection of ten heartbreaking stories of persons wrongly accused of crime. So many lives are lost, devastated due to neglect, lies, and corruption. The stories are well told and factual. Really makes you wonder just how many prisoners are really in this situation while the real criminal roams our streets and neighborhoods!

This book was informative, captivating and educational. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it and it made me think long after I turned the last page. Grateful for John Grisham and Jim McCloskey for writing such an amazing book and the research they did for the accuracy between the pages.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and did not have to write a review. All opinions are solely mine.

Heartbreaking, infuriating, and shocking. The ignorance, narcissistic, stupidity put forth by both judges, juries, and law enforcement almost had me pulling out my hair! I did shout out an obscenity or two. This book hurts. Its embarrassing to those of us who believe in the good guys aka the cops. I highly recommend this for the simple reason that it proves, without a doubt, that you almost....almost....can't trust anyone. Learn from the wrongfully convicted people in here, in case you get arrested or blamed for something you didn't do.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. This book was eye opening in many ways. It tells the stories of real individuals who were convicted and sent to jail for crimes they did not commit. This book is a must read.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

John Grisham needs no introduction! Jim McCloskey is the founder of Centurion Ministries, a nonprofit organization that fights to free the innocent. Together, these co-authors present ten true stories of wrongful convictions. The stories are well-researched and, in the case of McCloskey, he has been intimately involved in the aftermath of the initial trials while working to overturn the convictions.

The stories are gripping, revealing the pain felt by the victims and the wrongfully convicted, neither of whom receive true justice, as well as the devastation brought to all families involved. If you think these stories are just about a case of mistaken identity, you would be so wrong. They are an eye-opening look at coerced confessions, malfeasance by law enforcement, prosecutors and judges, and perjured testimony. Some of the stories veer into absurdity, and it is hard to believe this is really our justice system at work. Even harder for me to understand is how a person can lie knowing they are sending someone to years on death row and eventual execution.

This book grabbed me from the start, didn’t let go and left a lasting impression. Lots to think about.

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Thank you to #Doubleday and #NetGalley for the digital ARC of #Framed. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Going back about 50 years, this is a riveting, heartbreaking account of 10 different wrongful convictions in the US criminal justice system. 5 stories are written by Grisham based on extensive research while the other 5 stories are written by McCloskey, who was personally involved in the cases thru his Centurion Ministries. While advances in science and forensics (like DNA analysis) has allowed for the re-examination of these cases, it is mind boggling how tightly the investigators, prosecutors and judges cling to the original verdict, how corrupt the system can be and how slowly the appeals proceed (i.e. decades).

Along with Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy and The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton, this should be required reading for all US citizens.

John Grisham and Jim McCloskey's "Framed" is an anthology of miscarriages of justice and wrongful convictions in the United States. Each author describes five of the most unforgettable tales of wrongful conviction that they have encountered. The profiles are very clearly extremely well researched; the authors left no stone unturned in their quest for the facts. However, I ultimately felt that each profile was too wordy and the focus in each story was unbalanced--many, many pages were dedicated to describing what lead up to the innocent victim's arrest/conviction, court proceedings, and appeals processes, but very little room was dedicated to describing the ultimate fates of these wrongfully convicted citizens. It was also emotionally disheartening to read page after page of the corruption and willful negligence amongst police officers, district attorneys, judges, and other civil servants that led to these wrongful convictions, without the inclusion of any sort of corrective action or political movement in present day to account for the egregious errors that resulted in each miscarriage of justice. I commend the authors for taking on such a heavy undertaking, and I think that the stories of these innocent victims are worth learning about, but there was also a palpable tone of sarcasm throughout each of Grisham's profiles, which felt misplaced and inappropriate. I could recommend this for lawyers, policy makers, and advocates interested in wrongful conviction work, however, apart from that I don't think I would recommend this book to the casual reader.

Framed is a nonfiction piece of work, co-authored by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey. It tells the heartbreaking stories of ten wrongful convictions in recent U.S. history (1970’s and beyond). It was eye opening and distressing and disappointing. How much can and does go wrong with convictions- tunnel vision by law enforcement that they “have the right guy,” the unethical techniques used by the police to elicit confessions, the absurdity of unscientific testimony and unqualified “experts”(named as such sometimes after only a 40hr class and paper certificate), and the overuse of unreliable jailhouse snitches. It is quite frankly scary how easily these false convictions happened. My hope is that our nation is learning from its mistakes and putting in place changes so this doesn’t happen. However, I fear this may not be the case. We are lucky to have organizations like the Innocent Project and Centurion who have made it their missions to help.
If you enjoy the law and reading about it in detail, then this would definitely be a great choice. But honestly, this is so powerful that I think everyone should read it. Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday for my ARC.

John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, join forces to share ten unbelievable stories of wrongful convictions within the U.S. It amazed me the consistent issues of prosecutors who diligently work with snitches to incarcerate an innocent man while providing leniency or freedom to someone who is guilty. The blatant evidence ignored or withheld is mind boggling for prosecutors “hell-bent on clearing cases or gaining a conviction through a wide variety of illicit mean…” Kudos to the authors for a well-written book to raise awareness.

The authors state that their “goal with this book is to raise awareness of wrongful convictions and in some small way help to prevent more of them.” I hope this book is successful in attaining the goal! These stories are heart wrenching. No other way to put it. Everyone in the United States should be aware of this so we can all work toward equitable justice.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about the injustices in the United States. Read it, you won’t regret it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wow! This book tells of wrongful convictions and how some of these innocent people are still locked up. How horrifying! Well written and very engaging.

Talk about man's inhumanity to man!

Framed is not an easy book to read. In fact, after reading the first story I was unsure if I would be able to read any more. These are stories of corruption and outright manipulation by the systems that are supposed to protect us. As I read the tragic occurrences of innocent people being convicted (and their lives destroyed) I found the stories to be equal parts horrifying and heartwrenching.

It's not a book I will soon forget.

My thanks to both #DoubledayBooks and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Framed. This book has an expected publication date of October 15, 2024.

#JohnGrisham #JimMcCloskey #Nonfiction #WrongfulConvictions

True crime lovers will definitely want to pick up a copy of Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions. This collection of actual accounts of wrongful convictions is informational and highly emotional. I found myself fluctuating between enraged, saddened, and bewildered at the behaviors and thinking of those involved in convicting those featured in these stories.

The cases chosen were very interesting and highly detailed. Both writers deftly sucked me into the emotional roller coaster of each story, due in large part, I’m sure, to their personal involvement with many of the cases. Throughout my reading I kept thinking that these stories demonstrate how much we need police/prosecutorial/judicial reform.

Some of the cases I’d heard of, and most, if not all sent me down the rabbit hole looking for more info. And I suppose if I had one beef about the book, it’s that some stories deserved more attention than they received in this collection. I am grateful to both authors for including source books and articles for me to read!

After each chapter I felt a bit hollow. What about the victim? Generally with these wrongful convictions the actual perpetrator(s) is never caught. Injustice on top of injustice.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Everyone’s worst nightmare . . . to be accused and then convicted of a terrible crime you did not commit. Well written and well-researched. These accounts of judicial atrocities are far more horrific than any fiction on the shelves, especially knowing that each innocent person’s record of false imprisonment is merely a fractional representation of the many others who have not had proper advocacy.

This book highlights major malfeasance and screams the need for major reform at every level. It seems that protecting big egos and having closed cases, no matter how illicitly that is achieved, has become paramount to truth and real justice being served. Absolutely terrifying!

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Framed for my unbiased evaluation.  5 stars

If this was my usual genre of fictional thriller my first comment would be that there are many unlikely, fantastical, stretch-of-the- imagination scenes. However, the cases Grisham and McCloskey selected to feature aren’t made up. The ten bungled or purposeful convictions are all real examples of innocent people imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. The pervasive use of jailhouse snitches, ex parte discussions, losing, hiding or destroying evidence and perjury was mind blowing. At times I had to put away my E-reader, take long breaks from the overwhelming despair and hopelessness of the situations. How could an innocent person not lose hope when faced with a life sentence or death by lethal injection? The tireless persistent work by organizations like the Centurion and other Innocence Projects do amazing work, often for free. Many of the wrongfully convicted cases date back to the seventies, far too many from Texas. I would like to believe systems and people have improved since then, but I’m not oblivious to the issues remaining. I see the news stories like everyone else and wonder what it takes to turn it around. I hope bringing these cases to light make a difference. The current divisive climate of our nation does not leave me with high expectations. I commend the authors for the tremendous amount of work and effort it took to condense these complicated cases into the short story format.
An Advance Reader Copy of “Framed” by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey, was provided by Doubleday, expected publication 10/15/2024, without expectation of compensation. I have no affiliation with the authors or publisher and these are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions.

Review of Uncorrected eBook File

Here are ten horrific, spellbinding tales of justice denied, of innocent defendants wrongfully convicted and incarcerated for decades as a result of discrimination, corruption, professional misconduct, falsified confessions, or botched [or nonexistent] forensics. Each story relates all the facts in great detail, leaving the reader to wonder at how such a travesty could possibly occur.

By turns compelling, infuriating, and heartrending, each story reminds readers that justice is not always served, that the innocent suffer the fate of the guilty, that the process of determining guilt and punishment in our court system is not infallible. Thus, the work of organizations such as Centurion Ministries in seeking to right these grievous wrongs stands as a crucial force in seeking justice for the wrongfully convicted and imprisoned.

This is an easy book to read, but it is an important one that should be on every must-read list.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from Doubleday Books / Doubleday and NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
#Framed #NetGalley

I am a huge John Grishman fan. Nonfiction is my favorite genre, so his book The Innocent Man, as well as the documentary movie by the same name, intrigued me. Now Grisham has partnered with Jim McCloskey, founder of Centurion Ministries, to share the stories of ten innocent people wrongfully convicted.

These powerful, tragic, horrific stories call into question all aspects of our justice system: police, investigators, attorneys, judges, jailhouse snitches, witnesses, and "experts." Many of those who were wrongfully incarcerated continued to maintain their innocence despite agonizingly long years waiting for a response to their appeals.

DNA has helped overturn some wrong convictions, but the large majority of the change needs to occur before a trial even begins.

Highly recommend!

Difficult and sometimes hard to read, Framed clearly shows a need for justice reform in all areas. Books like Framed need to be brought to our attention. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

I fascinating at times horrifying look at our legal system.Truly sad that so many innocent people are not treated fairly.A book that gives me a lot to think about and discuss. #netgalley #doubleday

This book is very frightening and will stay with you for a long time. It is almost unbelievable to the lengths that the legal system will go to just close a case at the cost of allowing the real person walk and commit more crimes. I finished the book last night and am still so appalled at what these innocent people were put through. Their lives ruined but never gave up.

How can these judges and prosecutors and yes, even the defense teams live with themselves, knowing they did not do their jobs. It really opens your eyes as to how dirty the system is, just to put CLOSED on a case, no matter what.

While reading this book I have seen 3 cases just this past week in my newspaper where innocent people were finally released after years in prison for crimes they didn't commit, proven by DNA. Such a tragedy of our legal system and these bad apples should be prosecuted themselves, made to serve time just like the innocent people they put there.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.