In his latest novel, successful American writer John Grisham tells the story of a prisoner wrongly sentenced to death.

A new judicial thriller which highlights the "inequalities" of American justice and the failings of a society in crisis after four years of presidency Trump, says the writer, guest of Europe 1 Thursday morning.

INTERVIEW

The novel opens on death row.

A lawyer specializing in desperate causes accompanies his client to his last meal.

But the phone rings in time: the execution is postponed.

In

The Forgotten

(Lattès editions), John Grisham, American writer with 300 million books sold, is interested in these prisoners wrongly locked up for years.

"We have thousands of people like that in the United States, who are innocent and who have no lawyers to defend themselves," said the author, guest of Europe 1 Thursday morning. 

>> Find Matthieu Belliard's interview in replay and podcast here

All the work of this writer of thrillers, former lawyer, is crossed by his questions about the American legal system.

"Our system is unequal: barely half of Americans have access to justice," he said.

An inequality which, according to him, contributes to weakening a democracy already shaken by the disinvestment of citizens and the influences weighing on electoral campaigns.

"There are so many people who don't vote, don't register. Those who vote are often influenced by the billions of dollars invested in campaigns. And as if that weren't enough, they are now influenced by social networks, fake news, conspiracies ... "

"Donald Trump deserves to be in jail"

Since his election in 2016, John Grisham has not had enough harsh words to qualify Donald Trump.

The nomination of Joe Biden was a real deliverance for him.

"We wake up every day with the relief that Trump is no longer in the White House. He did so much harm when he was there, including working with all the wrong people," he said.

Unlike the character in his novel, the former president, according to him, deserves to be tried and condemned.

"Donald Trump deserves to be in jail for all his shenanigans, but so far he has always managed to avoid it."

Despite his defeat, John Grisham is afraid to see the billionaire back on the political scene.

"It's terrifying to see the huge amount of people who voted for him. No one can predict what will become of him," he concludes.