Adams V. Texas

In 1976 Ohioan Randall Adams, 28, who had gone to Dallas to seek work, was arrested for the murder of a police officer actually slain by 16-year-old David Harris, with whom Adams had spent part of the day. The prosecutor, Douglas Mulder, suppressed or distorted evidence and bribed witnesses; presiding over the trial was ``hanging judge'' Donald J. Metcalfe. Adams was convicted and sentenced to death. After 12 years in jail--described by Adams and the Hoffers ( Midnight Express ) as a barbarous experience--the prisoner was ultimately exonerated and freed, even though many Dallas judicial officials refused to accept his innocence. Adams's account of his ordeal is a scathing indictment of Texas justice. Unfortunately, however, this exceedingly depressing book lacks the dramatic pulse of Errol Morris's film about the case, The Thin Blue Line. (June)