Fiction once again is outshown by fact. While at points extremely funny, the book shows the perversions of society wrought by dishonest and corrupt judges. To the cynical, the stories may seem to be expected. To honest citizens of the greatest democracy in the world, the stories are headshaking. The crook enrobed is a shocking thought, and the authors present the reality of that thought. Written in a fast paced style, Greylord is at once terrifying, and instructive. Nothing is quite so strange as a down and out drunk being sentenced to DEATH by a baliff in judges' robes, unless it is a judge who has the "shorts".

It's all here, and it's scarier than the latest "Friday the 13th" - self-contradictory witnesses, tunnel vision investigators with secret files, over zealous prosecutors willing to trade truth for career goals, bad science, incompetent defenders, compromised experts and a credible public. The odds of Jason coming to get you are remote, but as this book makes clear, anyone can find him or herself in the cross hairs of wrongful prosecution. And make no mistake, they'll kill you. They had every intention of killing Dennis Williams, Kenny Adams, Willie Rainge, and Verneal Jimerson.

I can't think of anyone who shouldn't read this book, and the fact that it's a page-turner is a further incentive. It's a riveting read, and it's real. Thank God, literally, for David Protess and Robert Warden. In 1996 alone, 28 people who had been convicted by juries were exonerated by science (including these four). Many more remain in prison, and most of them will never be cleared. You could be next. You need to read this book.

It's all here, and it's scarier than the latest "Friday the 13th" - self-contradictory witnesses, tunnel vision investigators with secret files, over zealous prosecutors willing to trade truth for career goals, bad science, incompetent defenders, compromised experts and a credible public. The odds of Jason coming to get you are remote, but as this book makes clear, anyone can find him or herself in the cross hairs of wrongful prosecution. And make no mistake, they'll kill you. They had every intention of killing Dennis Williams, Kenny Adams, Willie Rainge, and Verneal Jimerson.

I can't think of anyone who shouldn't read this book, and the fact that it's a page-turner is a further incentive. It's a riveting read, and it's real. Thank God, literally, for David Protess and Robert Warden. In 1996 alone, 28 people who had been convicted by juries were exonerated by science (including these four). Many more remain in prison, and most of them will never be cleared. You could be next. You need to read this book.

American justice would be in far better condition if there were more investigative reporters with the talent and tenacity of David Protess and Rob Warden. This is a powerful and well-crated story that, as Studs Terkel observes on the jacket cover, deserves "at least" the Pulitzer Prize. The book was so compelling that I stayed up all night to finish it. I found it not only enlightening but also highly enjoyable. Books like this one come along only very occasionally, and shouldn't be missed.

The first 4/5 of this book was very frustrating to read. If it hadn't been a true story, I wouldn't have tormented myself with it. But, because it really is true and, I think, important for us to realize, I gave it four stars.

I say "frustrating" because one awful thing after another, after another, after another keeps happening for at least 300 pages. Police start the lies because they're so anxious to close the case of a missing child that they pin the blame almost immediately on the easiest targets, the parents. From there, they ignore all facts that might disprove their theory. The prosecutors do the same and claim things that aren't true. Witnesses lie. The media, with one notable exception, is a mouthpiece for the prosecution. The jury doesn't get what really happened because of inept lawyers, prosecutorial misconduct, and plain ol' stupidity.

The whole case looks just plain ridiculous when the authors point out the facts. And the whole time the defense lawyers insist to their clients that they should say nothing, to me, the most frustrating of all the frustrations.

Yet, all those frustrations are so important for us to realize. I can't think of a big upcoming court case that is covered day by day in the news that the media has not already decided for us. And, usually, their decision is based on whatever the police and prosecutors tell them. It's so easy to forget that they might be wrong. And then all the t.v. channels' Web sites have a place for us to vote on the guilt or innocence of someone who hasn't even been to trial yet.

The last fifth of the book had some positive mixed with the negative so was easier for me to read.

This book must be read by anyone who thinks the police and prosecuters are always right. Not only were they wrong in this case, but they acted maliciously. It is crucial for us to realize how far off track our legal system has gone, with help from the media.

A classic newspaper book that ought to charge up any real or wannabe ink-stained wretch. Read it for the ledes alone.