Structure

The book is divided into 17 chapters and follows a mostly linear structure. The book begins with a description of all of the facts known about Debbie Carter’s murder. The book presents these facts so as to emphasize Glen Gore as the most obvious suspect. Thus, the illogic and injustice of the investigation is immediately clear to the reader. The book digresses in order to give Ron Williamson’s backstory, as he is the most prominent figure in the book. The book then proceeds to highlight the many illegal and unethical actions taken by the police and the courts, all of which led to the wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz. As a subplot, the book also examines the wrongful convictions of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, who were wrongly convicted for the murder of Ada resident Denice Haraway.

The book structures its descriptions of...