Journey Toward Justice

[Crosstimbers Okie]

Here is a new book written by Dennis Fritz. Fritz received a life sentence for a murder that he did not commit, which DNA proved. His codefendant, Ron Williamson received a death sentence for the same crime. He too was proven innocent. John Grisham recently wrote a book about it that focused on Williamson, who has since died. Fritz has written his own book. I've read them both and they are a must for those of us working in prisons.

Here is a link to the book and a review statement that puts it all in a nutshell.

Barbara's Journey Toward Justice

The only thing that saved Dennis Fritz from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. Dennis Fritz is the other innocent man mentioned in John Grisham's Book. which mainly is about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's co-defendant. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison.

The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness(es). Read about why he went on a special diet of his while in prison, amazing and shocking. He wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975 by a deranged 17 year old neighbor. On May 8th 1987, Five years after Debbie Sue Carter's rape and murder he was home with his young daughter and put under arrest, handcuffed and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder.

After 10 years in prison he discovered The Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization. With the aid of Barry Scheck and DNA evidence Dennis Fritz was exonerated on April 15,1999 Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns and now on his Journey Toward Justice. He never blamed the Lord and solely relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.

[Xochitl]

Another great book by a wrongly convicted death row inmate is Chasing Justice by Kerry Max Cook. It reads like a page turning mystery book.

[conkicker241]

Also Read Dreams of Ada, (not sure who wrote it). It's also about 2 men accused of Murder in Ada, Oklahoma. They are both supposdly also Innocent, but there is no DNA in this case. They are both still in prison. Tommy Ward, & Carl Fontenot. John Grisham mentions them in his book.

I have read all of the books. Gore, the one that DNA finally matched, escaped from Lexington CF, the same year I started working their. He escaped when he found they were going to DNA him. He was working on a work crew at that time. They caught him a couple of days later. All very good books.

[Crosstimbers Okie]

Robert Mayer wrote The Dreams of Ada.

[BJTJ]

Thank you for introducing my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice and Dennis Fritz's book "Journey Toward Justice". I added great post since your last visit. I would love to do a story about this website and the wonderful job prison officers do. I believe most prison officers do not get the great recognition they deserve in any form of media. My blog gets attention from all over the world. It started simple now I have many worldwide readers. It is hard for me to pick from many stories, so if anyone has a good story, feel free to email me. If you read my blog, Stories from Ada, OK or the Debbie Sue Murder Case are also very welcomed.
Thank you again and hope to hear from you all soon. I will visit often. Best Regards, Barbara

[Crosstimbers Okie]

Thank You Barbara. And, welcome aboard!

[dilligaf]

I have an inmate on my caseload that is currently working with the Innocence Project. They paid to have DNA tests done on evidence recovered at the scene of the murder and his DNA. He keeps me updated on the case and showed me a letter from them stating that the DNA does not match. So now he is appealing for a new trial. It is taking such a long time. It is amazing how long the wheels of justice take even with faced with new evidence.

I do remain skeptical (I have not bought into his innocence hook, line and sinker but it looks pretty legit) and will so until the verdict is read again, but it is interesting. I will have to check out some of these links.

[Crosstimbers Okie]

I doubt that the Innocence Project is in the habit of wasting time and money on cases that lack merit.

[Crosstimbers Okie]

Prosecutor sends innocent man to prison for 12 years.
Innocent man freed by DNA evaluation of crime scene eveidence.
Innocent man writes book about his experiences.
Prosecutor sues innocent man who he sent to prison.

Is reality not more perverted than fiction??

Barbara's Journey Toward Justice: Dennis Fritz Responds To Lawsuit Author of Journey Toward Justice

Sunday, September 30, 2007
Dennis Fritz Responds To Lawsuit Author of Journey Toward Justice

“The problem is that Mr. Peterson convicted two innocent men, sent Ronnie and I to the penitentiary for 12 years, based upon alleged evidence that did not go beyond a reasonable doubt.”Fritz said the lawsuit is merely a power play by Peterson “to regain what he has lost because of his actions, or mis-actions.”“He cannot handle the truth that’s been brought out in both Mr. Grisham’s book as well as mine. Dennis Fritz said every word in his book is true as he remembered the events of that time.
“Factually, it’s backed up exactly by every word out of the transcript,” he said.
Fritz said that Peterson achieved their convictions through “several huge mistakes, worse than mistakes, travesties of justice.”
“He doesn’t want to face the truth, really, of what happened,” he said. “He wants to try to make everybody believe that, in fact, he has not done anything wrong.”
I just want to say every word, every part of my book, is 100 percent factual." Fritz said from his home.
District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, have named Grisham, Fritz and several others in a lawsuit.
The two men, Peterson and Rogers were involved in the arrest and prosecution and wrongful conviction of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, in the murder of cocktail waitress Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Okla. Williamson and Fritz were freed after 12 years in prison, exonerated by DNA evidence.
Grisham's, "The Innocent Man" and Fritz's ,"Journey Toward Justice" chronicled the history of the case and the experiences of the two men.
A movie based on Grisham's book focusing on Ron Williamson's life reportedly is in the works with George Clooney producing it.
Gary Richardson the attorney for Peterson is quoted in Tulsa World News as saying "Hopefully, they'll make more money so we'll have more to go after them on." he said laughing.

[BJTJ]

I just stopped in to say Hello to everyone. I also want to thank you all for your visits to my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice. Yes, DA Bill Peterson is suing all 3 authors, John Grisham, The Innocent Man, Dennis Fritz, Journey Toward Justice and Robert Mayer, Dreams Of Ada. Plus Barry Scheck and all the Publishers and others. I will try to visit more often, but you can also leave comments on my blog anonymously. Thanks again for your visits..Stay Tuned, looks like my journey is going to be long and very interesting.