The Innocent Man, by John Grisham, is a heartbreaker. It certainly makes one suspect that even when the legal systems and personnel in the USA mean well, things may go terribly awry. And, if law enforcement itself becomes biased, then there's little hope for justice to prevail. This book, describing several miscarriages of justice, is chilling. Although the main person who is wrongly incarcerated isn't the most sympathetic in the world, he didn't deserve what happened to him--nor did others who experienced even worse fates. In light of several recent cases where the "convicted" have gained their freedom after "new evidence" is presented, one should be on guard not to believe everything one reads or hears about accused people. "Innocent until proven guilty" ought to be chanted every day!
I did find the prose rather "jerky--and the narration goes back and forth a bot more than needed (I thought). But, still, this one "wakes you up" because you become impatient with how misused the legal system can be when it is placed in the "wrong" hands! Prof. Opal