Justice Deferred

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating prison epic/legal thriller
Review: First novel inspired by the real life events experienced by the author. Williams is the former CEO of Coca-Cola New Zealand, among other companies, and his son was kidnapped. A prison inmate, in for life on the three strike rule for theft, claimed he had killed the boy and offered to show Williams the grave. It turned out to be a bogus claim being used as an escape attempt, and Williams was horrified by the implications of the three strike law putting a man in prison for life for a nonviolent crime like robbery. He turned that story into this fascinating prison epic/legal thriller. Billy Ray Billings is a cracker from Mobile, Alabama and for the first half of the book we follow his life, starting with reform school and ending with life in prison for stealing small appliances. But the life sentence never should have been given - it was forced by the way the local cops were handling their cases to make their conviction rate look good. Enter Harry Brown, lawyer and free lance crime reporter for the local newspaper, who's interest in this case is quite personal. The rest of the book deals with the legal maneuverings to get those life sentences overturned and have justice prevail. Williams draws the reader in from the first page and doesn't let go - even after the last page, these characters will stay with you.  

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating prison epic/legal thriller
Review: First novel inspired by the real life events experienced by the author. Williams is the former CEO of Coca-Cola New Zealand, among other companies, and his son was kidnapped. A prison inmate, in for life on the three strike rule for theft, claimed he had killed the boy and offered to show Williams the grave. It turned out to be a bogus claim being used as an escape attempt, and Williams was horrified by the implications of the three strike law putting a man in prison for life for a nonviolent crime like robbery. He turned that story into this fascinating prison epic/legal thriller. Billy Ray Billings is a cracker from Mobile, Alabama and for the first half of the book we follow his life, starting with reform school and ending with life in prison for stealing small appliances. But the life sentence never should have been given - it was forced by the way the local cops were handling their cases to make their conviction rate look good. Enter Harry Brown, lawyer and free lance crime reporter for the local newspaper, who's interest in this case is quite personal. The rest of the book deals with the legal maneuverings to get those life sentences overturned and have justice prevail. Williams draws the reader in from the first page and doesn't let go - even after the last page, these characters will stay with you.  

Rating:
Summary: I Thought it was a true story
Review: I had to read the jacket to find out that it was just based on a story. See this is what I am talkin about. Here you got a down south, redneck, uneducated white boy. gets in trouble goes to jail, escape from jail, lives in the swamps for months, comes out goes to college gets a degree, not just any degree but a law degree, who motivates him, a black man. who helped him to go to jail, in the first place, a black man. who does he go back and help to get out of prison because he shouldn't be there in the first place, a black man. and who are the crooked people who set him up White police officers. Only in America can this kind of stuff happen. that's why I thought it was real.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction - yet too close to the real thing
Review: Len William's first published novel takes apart the "three strikes" law being enforced at this moment in a number of states in the US. He weaves a fictional story (interwoven with some realities in the author's own life) that throws into question this legislation that at face value sounds reasonable and prudent, but in practice can be manipulated by our legal system and law enforcement agencies to entrap individuals whose crimes become overshadowed by the injustice of the punishment meted out to them.

Life in prison without parole (after committing and being convicted of a third felony) is the focus of this book. The words flows easily over the mind and the characters come across as very real, but flawed humans, doing dumb things - yet there is hope. The story makes us consider how justice is sometimes doled out in the US of A, or at least taps into that wary streak in us that says all is not well with our legal system.

I can see this book being made into a movie. It looks familiar, engages the mind, moves quickly, and appeals to those rooting for the underdog when the game is so obviously rigged.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction - yet too close to the real thing
Review: Len William's first published novel takes apart the "three strikes" law being enforced at this moment in a number of states in the US. He weaves a fictional story (interwoven with some realities in the author's own life) that throws into question this legislation that at face value sounds reasonable and prudent, but in practice can be manipulated by our legal system and law enforcement agencies to entrap individuals whose crimes become overshadowed by the injustice of the punishment meted out to them.

Life in prison without parole (after committing and being convicted of a third felony) is the focus of this book. The words flows easily over the mind and the characters come across as very real, but flawed humans, doing dumb things - yet there is hope. The story makes us consider how justice is sometimes doled out in the US of A, or at least taps into that wary streak in us that says all is not well with our legal system.

I can see this book being made into a movie. It looks familiar, engages the mind, moves quickly, and appeals to those rooting for the underdog when the game is so obviously rigged.

Rating:
Summary: Fiction - yet too close to the real thing
Review: No one reading this novel, based on real events in len Williams' life, will remain unapposed to 3-strikes laws, cruellest statutes since the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Williams demonstrates how even people sentenced for routine crimes end up with draconian sentences which should not be tolerated, in any society, let alone a free and democratic one.
The writing is brisk, eloquent, and heartfelt in this important page-turner.

Rating:
Summary: A nail in the coffin of "3-strikes" laws
Review: No one reading this novel, based on real events in len Williams' life, will remain unapposed to 3-strikes laws, cruellest statutes since the Rockefeller Drug Laws. Williams demonstrates how even people sentenced for routine crimes end up with draconian sentences which should not be tolerated, in any society, let alone a free and democratic one.
The writing is brisk, eloquent, and heartfelt in this important page-turner.