I just recently finished reading “The Innocent Man – Murder and Injustice in a Small Town” by John Grisham. This is his first foray into the nonfiction genre. You probably know his work – “The Firm,” “A Time to Kill,” “The Pelican Brief,” and many other legal thrillers. In this book that was out last October, he studied the case of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, who were both accused of the December 1982 murder of Debbie Carter in Ada, Oklahoma. Mr Fritz was convicted on circumstantial evidence, simply because he was a known “drinking buddy” with Mr. Williamson. A jail snitch traded information for a lighter sentence by saying that they confessed, so the prosecution team built their entire case around evidence meant to fit them. Mr. Fritz received a life sentence and Mr. Williamson got the death penalty. Both men were completely disillusioned that this could happen, based on the flimsy evidence. In 1999, with DNA evidence from the crime, they were both found to be innocent of the crime and the case was solved and proven to be Mr. Glen Gore – the last person seen with Ms. Carter before her murder.
I had some very naïve opinions about the death penalty, false convictions, DNA evidence and prison life. I read a lot of true crime stories, but this one has been the most impacting on me. If you are interested in this subject, I really recommend this book. And if you’re in prison, on death row, please leave my blog site immediately. You scare me. And if you “didn’t do it,” good luck to you.
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