Saturday, April 28, 2007

Barbara's Journey Toward Justice Recommends Justice For The Innocent JFTI

I am meeting so many Great people on my Journey from all over the world. Today I received an email from a friend in Germany. They read my Blog and told me about this Wonderful Group and their website. I just had to Add and Share:
JUSTICE FOR THE INNOCENT (JFTI) is a non-profit organization established in Germany in August 2005 to fight for the lives of innocent men and women sentenced to death. We are a close group of dedicated supporters from all over the world who share the same goal. Among our members are family and friends of death row prisoners, former death row prisoners, human rights activists and those committed to the abolishment of the death penalty. JUSTICE FOR THE INNOCENT now has a U.S contact based in NY

Abolish the Death Penalty: Innocent and Executed

Today I noticed this on Abolish the Death Penalty Blog: and found it very interesting. This is from their Blog -
Innocent and Executed
Today we launched the online version of Innocent and Executed: Four Chapters in the Life of America's Death Penalty. This report tells the story of four men -- Larry Griffin of Missouri and Ruben Cantu, Carlos De Luna and Cameron Todd Willingham, all of Texas -- who were executed despite being almost certainly if not demonstrably innocent. You can see the "micro site" we created here.

Many thanks to Josh Hilgart and Jason Zanon, friends and old colleagues of mine, for providing the technical assistance that allowed this to happen. END

Great Job, Josh Hilgart and Jason Zanon and Friends. From Barbara's Journey Toward Justice
Here is The Link Again
Abolish the Death Penalty: Innocent and Executed

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Law Day in Oklahoma May 1 and The Accompanying “Ask A Lawyer” Television Program

Oklahoma lawyers will offer free legal advice May 1 through a toll-free hotline on Tuesday, May 1 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The statewide hotline will be staffed by Oklahoma City and Tulsa attorneys. The toll-free number to call is (800) 456-8525.

The accompanying “Ask A Lawyer” television program will air May 1 at 7 p.m. on OETA stations across the state. The Ask A Lawyer free legal advice project is one of several events in which Oklahoma lawyers participate in observance of Law Day.

This is the 29th year the Oklahoma Bar Association has offered the service as part of the state and national celebration of Law Day. The Law Day theme this year is, “Empowering Youth, Assuring Democracy.” This theme provided the inspiration for Oklahoma school children to participate in the annual Law Day contests organized by the committee and sponsored by the OBA.
It’s all about teaching the public more about their rights and the role the legal system plays in our lives.

Here is an excerpt from Ada Evening News
About The Event:

Pontotoc County Bar President David N. Smith has appointed Kaycie Sheppard as county Law Day chairperson. The Law Day chairperson works in conjunction with the state bar’s Law Day Committee to coordinate the Ask A Lawyer call-in event. The state committee is chaired by Oklahoma City lawyer Giovanni Perry.

During the hour-long “Ask A Lawyer” television show, a series of segments will be shown to provide a glimpse into the lives of three Oklahomans who found their rights in jeopardy and how lawyers and our legal system helped them.

Dennis Fritz, a subject of the recent John Grisham book “The Innocent Man,” spent nearly 12 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. During “Ask A Lawyer,” he shares the story of his exoneration. Viewers will also meet Chloe Smith, a young girl who faced expulsion from school after a drug dog sniffed out legal, prescribed medication in her purse, as well as Don Johnson, a firefighter hurt on the job, who needed an attorney after his workers’ compensation claim was denied.

The show also will feature a segment on the Oklahoma High School Mock Trial program, sponsored by Oklahoma’s lawyers.
To Find out more read the article in its entirety From Ada Evening News click
Here


.
You can read about the case in Dennis Fritz's Book.
Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz click here On Amazon Here
International Orders Order Here Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz From Around The World click on here
Amazon International Just type in Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz

Monday, April 23, 2007

Barbara's Journey Towards Justice Reviews 360Mission Website Join in For Our Families, Schools and Communities

This is a excellent site I found on My Journey. I made a post of it, with the hope of more people participating in for our families, schools and communities.

360 degrees Mission
Click Here For Site

Even as the crime rate is dropping, the criminal justice system continues to grow. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, there will be 30 new federal prisons built over the next 7 years. Throughout this unprecedented growth, there have been few opportunities for critical examination of what is working and what isn't. It is our hope that this site will challenge your perceptions about who is in prison today and why. We also hope that it will generate ideas, big and small, about how we can reduce crime and strengthen our communities without continuing this unprecedented rate of incarceration.
Over the next two years, we are continuing to work with educators and students to develop local dialogues in schools and communities. We will be partnering with radio producers and journalists across the country to tell stories about how crime and incarceration affects not just the people who are directly involved, but whole families and communities.
They have a direct link to add new stories and updates.


About The Story Link

From 360dgress Mission:

Over the past year, we have been collecting the stories of inmates, correctional officers, lawyers, judges, parole officers, parents, victims, and others whose lives have been affected by the criminal justice system. In tandem with a new series on National Public Radio, Prison Diaries, we've conducted interviews and given inmates and officers tape recorders so they could keep audio diaries of their experiences in prison.
Each story is focused around a specific case and is told from the perspectives of the people involved. As you listen to the stories, you can explore each speaker's personal space by navigating 360 degrees -up, down, and around-prison cells, offices, judges' chambers, and living rooms.

To address many of the issues affecting our nation's growing prison population, we will add new stories throughout the year. Be sure to bookmark this site and come back often.

You will need the QuickTime plug-in to view the panoramic photos.

END


You can leave a comment here and tell me what you think of this great site or better yet, join in on My Journey. You can email me with a site suggestion for consideration to add to My Reviews or Post in Barbara's Journey Toward Justice.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Book Excerpt From Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz

Book Excerpt From Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz
Book Foreword Barry Scheck The Innocence Project

When Dennis Fritz testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of the Innocence Protection Act - legislation that ultimately passed that supports efforts to get post-conviction DNA testing for those claiming innocence - I actually saw tears in the eyes of worldly politicians who for decades had heard an endless stream of moving stories from multitude of witnesses. Among them were Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat from Vermont and the legislation's sponsor and great champion, and Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican from Utah. Indeed, Senator Hatch said with unmistakable sincerity that he was humbled by what Dennis had to say. I thought that phrase deftly captured what everyone was feeling - a sense of awe that this man could survive and recount his incredible, hair-raising life story passionately, modestly, and thoughtfully all at once. And what a life story it is - the literary equivalent to the wildest hardest-of-hard luck, happiest-of-happy-endings country-and-western song one could imagine. It is a yarn that Hank Williams at his darkest and brightest and on LSD could not have conjured. The wrongful conviction, as you shall see, is only part of the story.
Excerpted from Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz Copyright © 2006 by Seven Locks Press. Excerpted by permission of Seven Locks Press All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Ron Williamson Exonerated and Released April 1999 From The Innocence Project

Ron Williamson
Time Served: 11 years
Outcome: Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were exonerated and released in April 1999

Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were convicted in 1988 of the murder of Debra Sue Carter in Oklahoma. Her body had been found six years earlier. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison. Williamson -- whose story is the focus of John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" -- was sent to death row. The 21 year-old victim was found raped and murdered in her apartment after returning from her waitressing job. Fritz and Williamson were known to frequent the establishment where the victim worked. The prosecution presented evidence that the victim had previously complained to a friend that they "made her nervous." Williamson had been seen at the restaurant the night of the murder without Fritz. DNA testing revealed that neither Fritz nor Williamson deposited the sperm found in the victim. Further testing proved that none of the many hairs that were labeled "matches" belonged to them. The profile obtained from the semen evidence matched Glenn Gore, one of the state's witnesses at trial, who was later arrested. Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz were exonerated and released in April 1999. Williamson had, at one point, come within five days of execution. The two had been wrongfully incarcerated for eleven years.

Taken from The Innocence Project
You can read about the case in Dennis Fritz's Book.
Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz click here On Amazon Here
International Orders Order Here Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz From Around The World click on here
Amazon International Just type in Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Alan Bock's Blog: Journey Toward Justice

Click here to Read - Alan Bock's Blog: Journey Toward Justice

Alan Bock's Blog, Writer for the Orange County Register, and author of Waiting to Inhale, and Ambush at Ruby Ridge. Please read his Great Blog. A Wonderful Writer with A Great Blog Roll. Contributors to Blog Alan Bock - Steve Bock

Check out his Blog Rolls and I am sure he won't mind reading his books also.
Blog Roll
Albert Jay Nock -- essential "superfluous" man
Anti War
BBC News
Capitol Hill Blue -- nicely cranky
Cato Institute -- sort of like the Mother Ship
Chronicles - cranky paleocons
Chronicles magazine -- crusty paleocons
Counterpunch -- Alex Cockburn et. al.
Declan McCullagh -- technoliberator
Declaration of Independence
Digg - use it
Drudge Report - good news links
Frank Chodorov - pioneer libertarian polemicist
G.K. Chesterton - Father Brown and more
Harmless as Doves - Christian pacifists/anarchists
History News Network -- perspective from GMU
Hoover Institution -- I'm a media fellow
http://www.anthonygregory.com/
Independent Institute -- hard core enough to make me a media fellow
Institute for Study of Capitalism and Morality
Joe Bob Briggs -- drive-in movies etc.
Journal of Libertarian Studies
Karen De Coster -- blogging for freedom
Lew Rockwell
Liberty Watch
Lysander Spooner
Minaret of Freedom -- calling Muslims to liberty
Mises
National Review
OC Register
Opinion Journal -- Wall St. Journal edit pg.
Randolph Bourne - "War is the health of the state"
Reason magazine
Richard Cobden (1804-1865)
Robert LeFevre -- pioneer and friend
Salon.com
Slate.com
The Independent Review
Walter Block -- controversialist economist
War is a Racket
Weekly Standard -- Neocon's Pravda
Whiskey & Gunpowder -- investing for freedom
Wikipedia
World Net Daily

Saturday, April 7, 2007

A Family Photo of Debra Sue Carter and Article On Exonerated Man Dennis Fritz

Exonerated man, victim's family push for reform By Jaclyn Houghton CNHI News Service
The Exonerated Man is Dennis Fritz and The Family is The Family of Debbie Sue Carter.
Great Article
( UPDATE 2008 story and photo was removed from site, I left my story here))and a photo of the Rape and murder victim Debra Sue Carter, 21, of Ada, Okla. The photo was taken a few days before her murder. Photo of Debra Sue Carter was provided by the family of Debra Sue Carter
Family members of Carter, as well as Fritz and representatives of the New York-based Innocence Project that helped free Williamson and Fritz, are pushing for state commissions that would look at what mistakes were made in cases where convicts later were exonerated. You can read about the case in Dennis Fritz's Book.
Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz click here On Amazon Here

Saturday, May 10, 2008 -
At an Innocence Project dinner, Peggy Sanders danced with Dennis Fritz, who was sent to prison for her daughter’s murder.

Dennis Fritz Dances with Debra Sue Carter's Mother Fritz was exonerated for Carter's murder click here to read more.


International Orders Order Here Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz From Around The World click on here Amazon International Just type in Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz