One of my favorite narrative journalism novels is In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. In this novel he varies from other authors I like such as Hunter S. Thompson because he removes his presence from the novel. The story is not about him interviewing the killers or traveling through the town in Kansas (woo Kansas!) talking to the townspeople who were effected by the murder. The novel works as a recreation of the events that occurred before the murder and afterwards. It reads like fiction, but is extremely gripping because the reader realizes that the people are real. Capote also works to humanize the killers as well by giving their backstories and what led them to the crime of murdering a whole family for next to no money.
It is because of this novel that I was really intrigued by "Getting It Wrong: Convicting the Innocent". Crimes are usually portrayed by listing the very basic facts (journalism, police reports, etc.). In most newspapers if the killer or victim is of little significance they only warrant a short article that lists the bare facts. However, as Garrett notes these are real people to and the stories of their arrest and convictions are far more complicated than the confessions they eventually made.
If following the stories of the guilty can be heart wrenching then it is that much more so when reading about the wrongfully convicted. Garrett tells the events of Frank Sterling's arrest as though it were a story rather than a police report. By being able to read Frank's complete story and the situation he was put through Garrett is able to humanize the other 250 people he helped exonerate.
The article reverts to a more traditional journalistic approach after Frank's story is completed, but what he says after resonates better because we now have a human face to associate with these crimes, and can better understand what it might feel like to be in prison for years knowing your own innocence (or you could watch Shawshank Redemption).
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