Innocence Project Shares 9 Best Books of 2024

As 2024 comes to a close, we’ve curated a list of the year’s most powerful books that shed light on wrongful conviction, criminal legal reform, and the fight for fairer, more compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. From moving poetry to compelling and insightful nonfiction, these books offer valuable perspectives on justice, the human consequences of a flawed criminal legal system, and the extraordinary tenacity and resilience of people caught in the system.

If you’re searching for a thought-provoking read to kick off the New Year, these books will deepen your understanding of the urgent work needed to advance justice.

1. The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice by Dan Slepian

In “The Sing Sing Files,” veteran NBC News producer Dan Slepian recalls his two-decade pursuit to uncover the truth and help free six innocent men imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. At the heart of this book is the powerful bond Mr. Slepian forms with Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez – a man he helped free – and his family, a connection forged through prison visits, court battles, and the shared pursuit of justice.

It is a story of gut-wrenching failure and disappointment, but also one of hope and the power of relationships, by shedding light on wrongful convictions and the urgent need for accountability and change.

2. Perspectives and Emotions by Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams

“Perspectives and Emotions” is a poignant collection of poetry by Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, an Innocence Project and Midwest Innocence Project client who was executed in September despite no evidence linking him to the crime and serious doubts about the integrity of his conviction. Written during his two decades on death row, Mr. Williams’ poems evoke themes of empathy, hope, and survival. They weave together deeply personal experiences of his childhood, loneliness, and racial injustice with  discerning reflections on our criminal justice system. Mr. Williams’ poetry and life are a reminder of the humanity of the people languishing on death row and the risks of executing an innocent person. 

3. Framed by John Grisham

In “Framed,” bestselling author and Innocence Project Board Member John Grisham teams up with Jim McCloskey, the founder of Centurion Ministries, one of the first organizations dedicated to freeing the wrongly convicted, to explore how racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and systemic corruption played a significant role in the wrongful conviction of 10 innocent people.. Through Mr. Grisham’s signature storytelling and meticulous research, “Framed” dives into their hard-fought battle for exoneration and argues for necessary criminal legal reforms.

4. FRAMED: The Corruption and Cover- up Behind the Wrongful Conviction of William Michael Dillon and his Twenty-Seven Year Fight for Freedom by William Michael Dillon and Ellen Moscovitz

“FRAMED“ is a gripping firsthand account of wrongful conviction by William Michael Dillon, an Innocence Project of Florida client who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1981 and spent 27 years fighting for his freedom. Mr. Dillon exposes rampant  corruption within Brevard County law enforcement, and details how fabricated evidence and a biased judicial system led to his conviction. This beautifully crafted memoir walks readers through Mr. Dillon’s prison experience and, ultimately, his exoneration.

5. Ghosts Over the Boiler: Voices from Alabama’s Death Row by Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty and Katie Owens-Murphy

“Ghosts Over the Boiler: Voices from Alabama’s Death Row” is an anthology of poetry, art, essays, and archival materials. C curated by members of the prison-founded group Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty, the works were first published in the prison newsletter  “On the Wings of Hope” over the span of three decades. They lay bare the stark realities of capital punishment and chronicle the tireless fight to abolish the death penalty.

6. Death Penalty in Decline? The Fight Against Capital Punishment in the Decades Since Furman v. Georgia by Austin Sarat

“Death Penalty in Decline?” examines the evolving landscape of the death penalty in the United States since the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Furman v. Georgia in 1972. Edited by Austin Sarat, a political scientist who previously wrote about our clients Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams and Robert Roberson, this collection explores the shifting attitudes, legal trends, and social movements driving efforts to abolish capital punishment, and dissects advocacy strategies in the current political climate.

7. All Our Trials: Prisons, Policing, and the Feminist Fight to End Violence by Emily L. Thuma

Through extensive research and vivid storytelling, “All Our Trials” delves into the impact of incarceration on women, and highlights the feminist activism of Black, queer and incarcerated women who came together in the 1970s to fight against gender violence and mass incarceration. It challenges readers to confront injustices in our systems of policing and imprisonment and to join the ongoing movement for and change.

8. American Inmate by Justin Rovillos Monson

Justin Rovillos Monson’s debut poetry creatively blends his carceral experience and Asian American identity with his love for hip-hop. Pitting rap lyrics against the systematic language often used in prisons, Monson creates a powerful contrast that challenges stereotypes about imprisonment while exploring themes related to freedom, humanity, and injustice.

9. Assata Taught Me by Donna Murch

In “Assata Taught Me,” historian and award-winning Black Panther scholar Donna Murch connects past struggles for Black liberation with the contemporary movement for Black Lives, and highlights how campaigns against gangs, drugs and crime have had devastating and systemic impacts on poor and working class communities of color. This collection offers a sharp critique of the criminal legal system and is essential reading for anyone seeking to better understand this historic moment.

What were some of your favorite reads of 2024? Share with us in the comments below.