Author John Grisham has written a nonfiction collection about wrongful convictions, but the New York Times and ProPublica say Grisham went too far in his use of their reporting on a murder case in Texas, and they want changes made to the book, the Washington Post reports. The Times says Grisham’s book “draws comprehensively and without appropriate attribution” from “Blood Will Tell,” a two-part series by criminal justice reporter Pamela Colloff in 2018. Colloff reported on the disputed conviction of Joe Bryan, who was found guilty of his wife’s 1985 murder despite evidence suggesting he was 120 miles away when it took place. Grisham wrote “Framed” with Jim McCloskey, whose Centurion Ministries organization has worked to overturn wrongful convictions. Each author wrote separate chapters, with McCloskey focusing on cases he worked on while Grisham recounted stories of convictions based on previously published reporting by others.
Grisham told the Post that the stories he tells were based on newspaper and magazine articles, books, legal briefs, court opinions, and documentaries, "and I have fully acknowledged and credited all of my sources for each and every chapter." Grisham’s use of Colloff’s work goes far beyond usual professional practices, say the Times and ProPublica, with his writing close to Colloff’s in dozens of instances. Colloff writes of Bryan’s wife: “Her pink nightgown was drawn up to the top of her thighs, and she was naked from the waist down.” Grisham wrote: "she was naked from the waist down and her pink nightgown was pulled up to her thighs.”
ProPublica Editor in Chief Stephen Engelberg said his outlet found more than 50 examples of close similarities between Colloff’s articles and Grisham’s writing. Engelberg said Colloff’s credit in the book comes after more than 300 pages, and says she should be mentioned at the start of the chapter on Bryan. Grisham, a former criminal defense lawyer, is a financial supporter of legal fights over alleged wrongful convictions.