The Confession: A Novel by John Grisham, Doubleday, 2010.
The jacket covers say, “For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn’t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn’t care. He just can’t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected. … He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison to serve hard time, even to be executed.”
Travis Boyette is the man who watches it all unfold. While he suffers from an inoperable brain tumor, his miserable life and confusing personality cause him to decide to confess. But is it too late? Will the innocent man make it all the way to the death chamber?
Local attorney Robbie Flak represents Donte Drumm, the innocent young football star of the local high school. He is charged in the murder of fellow student and popular cheerleader Nicole Yarber. Drumm is black. Yarber was white. You’ll find no love lost between Flak and the prosecutors.
If you are person who sees the world as black and white this book will challenge you to the core. Some have said The Confession may be John Grisham’s best since A Time to Kill. We live in a land that prides itself with a system of justice second-to-none. However, even that system is full of holes when it is populated with less-than-noble people assigned with carrying out justice.
Read and watch your views on capital punishment be pushed to the limit.
The jacket covers say, “For every innocent man sent to prison, there is a guilty one left on the outside. He doesn’t understand how the police and prosecutors got the wrong man, and he certainly doesn’t care. He just can’t believe his good luck. Time passes and he realizes that the mistake will not be corrected. … He may even watch the trial of the person wrongly accused of his crime. He is relieved when the verdict is guilty. He laughs when the police and prosecutors congratulate themselves. He is content to allow an innocent person to go to prison to serve hard time, even to be executed.”