The novel The Innocent Man by John Grisham is a nonfiction piece that describes the injustice that was created in a small town to a social pariah. Ron Williamson was a great baseball player growing up, but due to injuries could never make it to the big leagues. This eventually led to his drunkenness and bad reputation within the town. His behavior is a major reason he was wrongfully imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.

This is the reason John Grisham was so inspired to write this book. He was attracted to the fact that a town's once golden boy could be so turned to be hated by society enough to have no one try and help him when he was accused of raping a murdering a young girl. Also Grisham has always been attracted to writing fiction pieces about the law and a corrupt justice system. When he saw the obituary for Ron Williamson in the paper, he was so drawn to him that he had to conduct further research.

Upon looking into Ron Williamson's past, Grisham was drawn to his wrongful imprisonment and the general lack of respect and carefulness displayed by authorities when dealing with Williamson's case. This was the perfect opportunity for Grisham to write a nonfiction piece to get Williamson's case out in the open. This is why The Innocent Man is such a good and interesting read. It delves deep into a small towns nightmare of a court case, and even further into a wronged man's personal hell. This is a great read that could entertain yet inform anyone.