Framed

Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions

By: John Grisham, Jim McCloskey

Narrated by: Michael Beck, John Grisham, Jim McCloskey

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction since The Innocent Man, “the master of the legal thriller” (Associated Press) teams up with Jim McCloskey, “the godfather of the innocence movement” (Texas Monthly), to share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions.

“Each of these stories is told with astonishing power. They are packed with human drama, with acts of shocking villainy and breathtaking courage. But these are more than just gripping true stories—they are a clarion call for reforming the tragic flaws in our criminal justice system.”—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon

John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system.

A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and corruption in the court system that can make them so hard to reverse.

Impeccably researched and told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of winning freedom when the battle already seems lost and the deck is stacked against you.


* This audiobook edition is accompanied by a downloadable PDF which includes A Note on Sources and Acknowledgments from the book.

Truly Innocent

Thank you to Jim McCloskey and John Grisham to bringing to light the innocent project. The long persistent fight to prove innocence. Gathering evidence overlooked and discarded documents to set the convicted free is commendable. Despicable how corrupt some in law enforcement are. Thank you again for setting some free.

Excellent - Scarry

The "Framed" presented 10 well written synopsis of men that were wrongfully convicted. It is acarry to think of such corrupt police departments and prosocuters in this day and age. I give cudos to the innocence project and all the men and women who donate their time to help get wrongfully convicted people out of jail.

Great Stories Well Written and Superb Narration

Each story is so well portrayed all true and gripping to realize innocent people being railroaded because of someone’s career obsessions. The scales of justice were wrongly tipped too often and unfortunately this is likely going on today in many jurisdictions. Highly recommended this awesome read!

Wow True Crime podcasts can learn from this

Okay y’all, this one rocked me. A collection of true stories about men wrongfully convicted thanks to sloppy police work, overzealous prosecutors, and judges who apparently missed the memo on justice.

We’ve all heard people say “everyone claims they’re innocent” — but this book straight-up smacks that myth down. A few takeaways that had me clutching my imaginary pearls:
1️⃣ No guilty man actually bothers to claim innocence (mind = blown).
2️⃣ If the police ever “just wanna chat”? 🚨 Lawyer up. Always.
3️⃣ Cops are not your friends, no matter how many “buddy” vibes they throw.
4️⃣ Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut. Unless your attorney is right there.
5️⃣ And here’s the kicker: you’re not “innocent until proven guilty.” In the eyes of the system? You’re guilty until you claw your way back.

So yeah… shaken is an understatement. A lot of these cases happened in Texas, which makes it hit even closer to home. And it drilled this lesson into me: being innocent does not protect you from looking guilty.

If you binge true-crime podcasts, this belongs at the top of your TBR pile. It’s a gut-punch, it’s an eye-opener, and it’s proof that adding a little non-fiction to my fantasy/romance/thriller diet was the best idea ever.

Next up on my radar? The Innocent Man. Because apparently I like my reading with a side of righteous anger.

🔥 Add it. Read it. Get mad with me.
I did the audio version also and loved having the authors narrate.

Great short listens in a book

I enjoyed listening to the short stories and then picking back up with another one a few days later. Very convicting stories that will leave you questioning every small town law enforcement conviction.