Stolen Years: Stories of the Wrongfully Imprisoned

Inspired by a wrongful-conviction murder case the New York Post reporter Fenton covered in 2013, he studies the cases of 10 men and women who spent decades in prison before being exonerated. Fenton's gripping accounts put readers in the cells of prisoners such as James Kluppelberg, found guilty in a 1984 south-side Chicago arson fire that killed a mother and her five children, and shows how Kluppelberg endured more violence in the Illinois penal system's pre-reform era than he'd ever encountered on the Windy City's streets. Over the course of the 10 cases, the book hits on the most common causes of wrongful conviction: false confessions, eyewitness misidentifications, improper forensic science, false accusations, and government misconduct. Fenton astutely conveys the degree of carelessness and underhandedness with which these cases were handled, which poignantly rouses anger and frustration in the reader. The book's most important message can be found in Fenton's conclusion, a call to action that empowers readers to "make a hell of a lot of noise" and explains what they can do to help free innocent prisoners. (Nov.)