The Innocent Man

How would you characterize Ron’s relationships with his family members? What is his role in their lives, and what is their role in his life? 

Discuss the evidence for and against Ron in the original trial, before the discovery of DNA evidence. Was there enough evidence to make a plausible case that Ron could have murdered Debbie Carter—enough to justify holding a trial? 

Ron’s sense of himself as a star baseball player is central to his personal identity, but for him, the game came with ups and downs. How did his relationship to baseball influence Ron’s life trajectory in both positive and negative ways?

Drawing on Grisham’s depiction of the prison system, how would you characterize the author’s opinion of the way the state of Oklahoma deals with its convicted criminals? 

Dennis and Ron are charged with the same crime, and their trials cover much of the same territory, yet they each respond in their own way. Discuss similarities and differences in the ways Dennis and Ron face their predicament.

Ron Williamson’s murder trial took place in the mid-1980s. Are Grisham’s critiques of the criminal justice system still relevant today? Do some research and compare the events of The Innocent Man to contemporary data. Has anything changed, or could an innocent person still be sentenced to death today?

Discuss the treatment of mentally-ill inmates by prison authorities in The Innocent Man. 

The town of Ada experienced two sensational murders within a short period of time. How did the Denice Haraway murder and its aftermath influence the Debbie Carter murder case, and what impact did the Carter case have on the Haraway investigation and its subsequent trial?