Adams V. Texas

by Randall Adams, William Hoffer, Marilyn Mona Hoffer

Profiles Randall Adams, who was wrongly accused and convicted for the murder of a Dallas policeman and who spent twelve years imprisoned under the threat of execution before being exonerated

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Biography

347 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Dodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting in the fact of how the justice system can go so wrong. It was encourging in the end to finally have a fair out-come. What an ordeal! I really respect Randall Adams in how he dealt with his rage. I don't know if I could have done that.

[Mike Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not to say that this (true) story is in anyway typical, but this book illustrates everything that can go wrong in the criminal justice system. A terrible crime that cries out for justice, over-zealous police and prosecutors, informants working the system, ill-motivated witnesses, and under-resourced defense attorneys confronting court proceedings where most involved simply assume that the accused is guilty. This story plays into the worst negative stereotypes of Texas culture.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Errol Morris' documentary The Thin Blue Line, which may be the greatest true crime film of all time, is essentially a whodunit. Adams v. Texas, in which one of Morris' subjects tells his story, is a Kafkaesque tale of the American legal system. Whodunits are more fun, but Kafka is good, too.

First reading: c. 1995
Second reading: 13 November 2017

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a great book - and a scary true story. It's almost unbelievable that an innocent man could get railroaded by the state of Texas like this when the evidence (and lack of credibility in the state's witnesses) seems to so obviously exonerate him. For state prosecutors to so badly want a man to be put to death at any cost...is really terrifying. Highly recommended read, and the documentary The Thin Blue Line (based on Randall's case) is a great watch as well