Barbara's Journey Toward Justice

Vinny Anna TRUTV STARS Estate Sale Tag Sale News: Vinny and Anna Fan Blog - Big Brian The Fortune S...

2011-08-25T15:37:00.002-04:00

Vinny Anna TRUTV STARS Estate Sale Tag Sale News: Vinny and Anna Fan Blog - Big Brian The Fortune S...: I watched "Big Brian The Fortune Seller" and became a fan of Vinny and Anna from the Show. I will be posting updates and contact information...

Long Island Couple Star in Big Brian The Fortune Seller TRUTV Show

2011-04-03T09:58:00.052-04:00

A Woodmere woman is taking her zest for tag sales to the small screen. Anna Dray has been buying and selling jewelry at her Cedarhurst store,

Anna K’s Jewelry, for decades, and she frequently searches for items at tag sales. She’s now taking her expertise on diamonds, rubies and pearls to truTV’s newest show, “Big Brian the Fortune Seller,” which premieres Tuesday night at 10 p.m.

The show also stars Dray’s fiancé, Vinny Kiretchjian, who has also worked tag sales for 20 years. “We’ve been doing this a long time,” Kiretchjian told Patch. “We started buying from Brian [Elenson] and he said it would be a good opportunity to be on the show, and it’s all history.”

The show follows Elenson, as he and his team travel to homes in New York and surrounding states to help owners clear up their houses and hold estate sales. “Brian tears houses apart for anything of value, sells it in a one-day, no-refunds, all-sales-are-final slam-bag auction, and makes all the junk disappear,” according to truTV’s website. “With hundreds of thousands of dollars potentially up for grabs, this ain’t your grandma’s tag sale.”

The first episode shows the team as they work a house in Sayville, according to Kiretchjian. The couple was a little closer to home over this past weekend, when some 1,500 people showed up for a sale they were holding in Woodmere. But, Kiretchjian pointed out, “We go everywhere.” Kiretchjian, who grew up in Queens Village and now lives in Pennsylvania, said he hopes Five Towners will tune in to the show to support the Woodmere native and mother of Hewlett-Woodmere students.

The couple met in Cedarhurst, when Kiretchjian was looking to open an eBay store down the block from Anna K’s. “Me and Anna fell in love on Central Avenue,” he said. “I call her my ‘Central Avenue angel.’” Story from The Five Towns Patch http://fivetowns.patch.com/listings/anna-ks-jewelry-sample-outlet To Contact Anna K call - 516-374-2662

Wrongly Convicted Exonerees - Add Your Blog, Website or Story

2010-04-25T08:47:00.012-04:00

Since 2006, I have been receiving many compelling stories from wrongly convicted exonerees from all over the world. I decided to add on My Blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice Here a special place for Wrongly Convicted Exonerees to list their website, blog or story. It is easy to do. Just add your site to "comments" below (Click on word Comments) or send me an email for now. For my email see "My Contact Information" on right sidebar. I will have a special place just for "Wrongly Convicted Exonerees". Let your story be heard.

Christy Sheppard,Debra Sue Carter's Sister Is Working To Free The Wrongly Convicted and Prevent Wrongful Convictions

2010-04-11T10:44:00.009-04:00

Women Gain When Men Wrongly Accused of Rape Are Freed

Run Date: 07/27/06
By Maddy deLone
WeNews commentator
The Innocence Project often opens the prison gates for men falsely accused of sex assault. Its staff is often asked whether its work serves the interests of rape survivors and women generally. Commentator Maddy deLone says the answers are yes and yes.

Editor's Note: The following is a commentary. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily the views of Women's eNews.
(WOMENSENEWS)--Earlier this month, Alan Newton walked out of a Bronx courtroom a free man. Twenty-two years after he was convicted for a brutal rape that he didn't commit, he was finally exonerated. For the first time since 1984, he decided what he would wear and what he would do.
One of the first things he did was approach several dozen reporters to talk about the rape survivor who mistakenly identified him as the perpetrator, leading to his conviction. Before addressing his own wrongful conviction and his new freedom, he said his thoughts were with the rape survivor. His voice chocked with emotion, he expressed compassion and sympathy for her.

To date, 182 people nationwide have been exonerated with DNA testing. The Innocence Project represented many of them, just as we represented Alan Newton. Because we only take cases where DNA can yield conclusive proof of innocence, many of our clients are men who were wrongly convicted of sexual assault. Ninety percent of the 182 exonerations involved sexual assault (sometimes in combination with murder and other crimes). While the criminal justice system began using DNA testing two decades ago to help identify the guilty and exonerate the innocent, it has become more prevalent and more sophisticated in recent years.

Since our clients are primarily men convicted of heinous crimes against women, some people wonder whether our work serves the interests of rape survivors and women generally. I strongly believe that it does in very specific, individual ways, and also more broadly and profoundly.

When No Justice Is Served
When the wrong man is convicted of assaulting a woman, nobody sees justice. The true perpetrator can remain at large, unpunished for a horrible crime and able to rape again. In one-third of the 182 DNA exonerations, we haven't just proved someone's innocence; the DNA has been used to help identify the true perpetrator.

As Alan Newton recognized earlier this month, wrongful convictions--once they're finally overturned--reopen crime victims' wounds and prevent them from moving forward, often decades after a crime. Once DNA proves that the wrong man was convicted, rape survivors are often brought right back to the night of the crime. Many are left questioning how they identified the wrong man, and wondering whether they will have to endure another trial, years later. The pain survivors experience at such times could be avoided if wrongful convictions were prevented in the first place.

Beyond the substantial consequences for the wrongly accused and individual rape survivors, wrongful convictions concern many of us because people of color and poor people are disproportionately targeted by our criminal justice system. That's troubling enough, but when it's done in the name of protecting the public and punishing violence against women, we cannot stand by.

More Men of Color Convicted
Among the 182 exoneration cases, where the race of wrongly convicted people is known, nearly 75 percent are men of color. No two cases are alike, but in many of them, police focused on an African American man immediately and ignored information that might have led to other suspects. In some of them, police coerced confessions, prosecutors concealed evidence and defense attorneys for poor defendants failed to challenge faulty evidence and law enforcement tactics.

The leading cause of wrongful convictions--playing a factor in about 75 percent of the exoneration cases--is eyewitness misidentification. The day after Alan Newton was exonerated in the Bronx, a member of a "men's advocacy" group called our office. He wasn't calling to help Newton find a job or offering other support to him, as many others have. He wanted to know why the Innocence Project doesn't pursue perjury charges against rape survivors who identify the wrong man.

Aside from the patently offensive notion of putting rape survivors on trial, the truth is that eyewitness misidentification is often the result of flawed law enforcement techniques that lead crime victims to identify a suspect who police already presume is guilty. The Innocence Project pursues policy reforms to improve identification techniques nationwide so crime victims aren't led to misidentify innocent people. These include specific changes to police lineup procedures, which have already been adopted by a number of cities, states and counties.

Women Who Help Our Work
A number of rape survivors and crime victims work with the Innocence Project to remedy the deeply embedded problems in our criminal justice system that cause wrongful convictions in the first place. They are all incredibly strong, powerful and amazing women. A particularly inspiring partner in our work is Christy Sheppard of Oklahoma.

Her cousin, Debra Sue Carter, was brutally raped and murdered in 1982. Six years later, Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were convicted; Fritz was sentenced to life in prison, while Williamson received the death penalty and came within five days of being executed. In 1999, both men were exonerated with DNA testing, which indicated that the state's main witness against them was actually the perpetrator.

In the years since, Christy Sheppard has pressed for state legislation to create an Innocence Commission that would study wrongful convictions in the state and identify steps to avoid future wrongful convictions. She says this advocacy is her way of fighting for real justice for her cousin, and for countless other women.

In very different ways, Christy Sheppard and Alan Newton remind us why working to free the wrongly convicted and prevent wrongful convictions is critical for everyone involved. They show us not just what's at stake, but that all of us can--and must--do our part to correct injustice.

Let me preface this by saying that I have an enormous amount of respect for the efforts of The Innocence Project. Those involved devote their time to freeing individuals who have been wrongly convicted and it is through their efforts that many men who have been falsely accused of rape and other crimes have been freed.

For this, I applaud them.

That said....the premise of this article is to convince people that it is beneficial to women if innocent men who are wrongly convicted of rape are freed from jail.

WHO CARES?

What bearing should it have upon the righting of a heinous wrong if it serves the interests of women? It is done because it is right; it is done because anything less should be unthinkable.

Unquestionably, we all benefit and the greater good is served when right and justice prevail but even if this were not the case; even if it could be indisputably proven that women were negatively effected by innocent men being released from jail....WHO CARES?

It's a telling commentary that this issue is even addressed....that even for one minute, when discussing the wrongful imprisonment of innocent men, there should be a need to expound upon it's mutual benefits to women.

Is this how we now define justice? Is right now determined by whether or not something benefits women? Do we need to convince the masses that something will ultimately serve the best interest of women in order for it to be deemed worthy of action?

An innocent man should not have to sit one day behind bars. An innocent man should not have to have his life destroyed for something he never did. An innocent man should be set free from jail because he is innocent. Whether or not such an action is beneficial to women is immaterial. It is an offense to justice, truth and right that this question was ever asked. Above all, it is an offense to the innocent men whose lives have been wasted behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit.

From A Great Blog - Equal but Different: It's Only Right When It Benefits Women

Wrongfully Imprisoned - Dennis Fritz and Darryl Burton Speak Out

2010-02-11T19:28:00.009-05:00

From left, Josh Kezer of Columbia applauds as Dennis Fritz greets Darryl Burton as the former inmates told their stories of wrongful imprisonment as part of a Midwestern Innocence Project fundraiser Wednesday night in Neff Hall Auditorium at the University of Missouri.
Photo by Parker Eshelman

Josh Kezer speaks to audiences across the county warning of the reality of wrongful convictions. He doesn’t do it for himself or the publicity; he passionately tells his tale for all the men and women he believes deserve a new day in court.

In front of a standing-room-only classroom last night on the University of Missouri campus, Kezer and two other exonerated inmates told their stories in an effort to raise money for the Midwestern Innocence Project. Through fundraising, the organization provides legal counsel for prison inmates in cases that have a high probability of being overturned.

Sean O’Brien, an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law and Midwestern Innocence Project board member, is one of many masterminds who head exoneration cases or work to find an attorney to handle a case. With a staff of two attorneys, a fundraiser, legal secretary and several volunteers in Kansas City, he works to conduct the groundwork needed to jump-start a potential exoneration case.

“We want people to be able to put a face on the issue,” O’Brien said. “People understand there are innocent people in prison, but this makes it real to them.”

O’Brien and project attorneys rely on volunteers to sort through the 700 cases the project has on file. Only two or three cases will be selected this year, he said, sometimes making a successful exoneration into a five-year process.

DNA evidence and testing technologies have contributed to clearing numerous inmates nationwide, including 20 Missouri cases since 1980. Typical components of an exoneration case include eyewitness misidentification, junk science, false confessions, lousy lawyering and snitch testimony, O’Brien said. Each of the three exonerated speakers’ cases was a mixed bag of such components, including snitch testimony.

Kezer was 17 when he was arrested for shooting a Southeastern Missouri State University student three times. He was prosecuted in Scott County and served 16 years in state prison. He was exonerated last February after a rebuke of prosecutor-turned-Congressman Kenny Hulshof.

In a 44-page decision, a Cole County circuit judge said Hulshof withheld key evidence from defense attorneys and embellished details in his closing arguments. Conflicting testimony and three jail inmates who had claimed Kezer confessed to the killing later acknowledged they lied in hopes of getting reduced sentences.

“They didn’t care about the truth. I should have never been arrested,” Kezer said. “That’s not me saying that. That’s out of the judge’s mouth.”

Also sharing his story was former high school science teacher Dennis Fritz. Ron Williamson and Fritz were convicted in the sexual assault and murder of a 21-year-old woman who was found strangled in December 1982 in Ada, Okla. In 1988, both men were convicted, partially because of microscopic hair comparisons done as part of a scientific testing method that has since been largely discredited.

Fritz and Williamson, who served 11 years in prison, also were convicted based on testimony by witness Glen Gore, an informant later shown by DNA testing to have been the real killer. Gore was later convicted of rape and murder.

“I was convicted by snitch testimony,” Fritz said. “These were the dirtiest of the dirty and the lousiest of the lousy. They needed to find me guilty.”

Fritz’s tale became the subject of a John Grisham book, “The Innocent Man.”

St. Louis resident Darryl Burton served the longest time in prison of the three speakers. For 24 years, he worked to clear his name of a murder he did not commit. He said he found faith and his grown-up daughter in the process.

Burton was convicted in 1985 of a gas station murder on the basis of testimony by two people claiming to be witnesses. No physical evidence or motive was offered at the trial, but the two witnesses made deals with the prosecutor in exchange for their testimony because they faced unrelated felony charges.

“I thought it would take 24 hours for them to realize they made a mistake and let me go,” Burton said. “It took 24 years.”

By Brennan David

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Court Dismisses Libel Case Against Grisham

2010-02-05T19:21:00.005-05:00

Three public officials from Oklahoma lost their bid to revive a libel lawsuit against best-selling author John Grisham and other writers who penned books about the wrongful convictions of Dennis Fritz and Ronald Williamson. Oklahoma District Attorney William Peterson, former police officer Gary Rogers and ex-criminalist Melvin Hett accused the authors and their publishers of engaging in a "massive joint defamatory attack" in order to drum up opposition to the death penalty. Williamson and Fritz were wrongly convicted of the 1982 rape and murder of cocktail waitress Debra Sue Carter. After spending more than a decade in federal prison, they were exonerated by DNA evidence.

Grisham's book about Williamson, called "The Innocent Man," describes a broken criminal justice system that condones "bad police work, junk science, faulty eyewitness identifications, bad defense lawyers, lazy prosecutors, [and] arrogant prosecutors." Fritz's book, "Journey Toward Justice," criticized the public officials who put him behind bars. And his former attorney, Barry Scheck, devoted a chapter of his 2003 book, "Actual Innocence," to the wrongful convictions. The plaintiffs also sued author Robert Mayer, whose book "The Dreams of Ada" explored a case that shared many parallels with the Carter case, including Peterson as prosecutor and Rogers as investigator.

Grisham said he found Mayer's book particularly helpful in his research for "The Innocent Man." All but "Actual Innocence" were published or re-released in October 2006. A federal judge in Oklahoma dismissed the libel claims, saying the books were protected political speech. The 10th Circuit agreed. Under Oklahoma law, public officers can't sue for libel unless someone falsely accuses them of a criminal act. "[P]laintiffs point to no statement in which defendants directly accuse any plaintiff of a crime," Judge Carlos Lucero wrote for the three-judge appellate panel. "Any connection between defendants' statements and an accusation of criminal activity is far too tenuous for us to declare them as unprivileged," Lucero added. The judges similarly rejected claims for civil conspiracy, emotional distress and false light invasion of privacy, and denied the plaintiffs' motion to amend.
By ANNIE YOUDERIAN
Courthouse News Service
Read More about Case
HERE

10th Circuit Dismisses Libel Suit Against John Grisham

2010-02-04T19:38:00.014-05:00

A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a libel suit filed by an Oklahoma prosecutor and other state officials against best-selling author John Grisham.
The Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Grisham and other defendants were protected by an Oklahoma statute imposing high burdens on libel plaintiffs who are public officials, the Tulsa World reports.

The suit was filed by three former public officials: Pontotoc County District Attorney William Peterson, a state criminal investigator and a criminologist. They had alleged Grisham’s 2006 nonfiction book The Innocent Man had defamed them and inflicted emotional distress, the Associated Press reports. Grisham’s book chronicled the convictions of two men exonerated in the murder of an Oklahoma waitress after spending more than a decade in prison.

Other defendants included one of the exonderated defendants, Dennis Fritz, who also wrote a book about the case; and Fritz’s lawyer, Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project in New York.
The 10th Circuit decision (PDF) cited an Oklahoma statute requiring libel plaintiffs who can’t prove special damages to prove libel per se—a statement that is clearly defamatory on its face. Plaintiffs who are public officials carry an especially heavy burden, since the statute allows them to sue only for false statements that they engaged in criminal behavior.
“Plaintiffs expect us to scale a mountain of inferences in order to reach the conclusion that defendants’ statements impute criminal acts to plaintiffs,” the opinion said. “We decline to engage in such inferential analysis, or to take a myriad of other analytical leaps plaintiffs ask us to make.
By Debra Cassens

Read More about Case
HERE

2009-12-26T21:53:00.006-05:00

Quick 5 questions for Dennis Fritz

1- Give us some background about what happened to you. I was living Ada, Okla., raising my young daughter. I was a science teacher. A murder happened in Ada. Debbie Sue Carter was viciously murdered and raped. A year before, I met an individual named Ronnie Williamson. Ronnie had bipolar disorder and the police didn’t like him. He would do bizarre things. They(police) zeroed in on Ronnie and me. They had no evidence yet they wanted to solve this crime.

2- So how you did get out of prison? I started working on my own case and learned criminal law inside and out. I contacted the Innocence Project for help. I was released on the strength of DNA evidence testing. When we were released, the actual murderer of the crime escaped from minimum security prison in Oklahoma. He was serving time for another crime. They had tested his DNA against the crime scene DNA and they matched. Anyway, he escaped from prison after knowing we had been exonerated. They caught him.

3- What inspired you to write “Journey Toward Justice?” Five years after we were released, I read an Associated Press article that said John Grisham was going to write a book about our case. I told myself that if John Grisham can write a book about my case, well so can I. I collaborated with John for about nine months on his writing of “The Innocent Man.” John gave me his one and only endorsement on my book.

4 -When you read or hear criminal accusations against suspects in the news media, do you believe them or are you deeply skeptical? I’m very deeply skeptical. There could possibly 10 to 20 percent people who are actually innocent who have been found guilty. After 10 years and they’re still screaming their innocence, then they’re innocent. I can tell by being around people who have been incarcerated for something they didn’t do by how they act. They lose that con job after a year or two in prison.

5- In ways did the ghosts of your ordeal haunt you as you penned the book? Five years had passed from the time I was released to when I started writing. I had feelings of alienation and paranoia. When I would hear a car door slam outside, I’d start thinking in my mind the fear of seeing the cops in my driveway. If I saw a police car drive by my house, I would kind of freeze. I tried to talk myself out in so many ways of not writing the book, but I had a good and strict editor.
By Michael Glover - michael.glover@examiner.net
The Examiner Independence, MO —
http://www.examiner.net/news/x1769696353/Quick-5-questions-for-Dennis-Fritz

Men Exonerated for Crimes They Had No Part of Tell Their Story

2009-11-01T11:46:00.003-05:00

One says he's positive there are other innocent men still behind bars.
By Rob Hoy Wednesday, October 14, 2009
About 50 Oklahoma City University Law students heard from three men who were wrongfully convicted of crimes.
Dennis Fritz was one of the speakers Wednesday night... He spent 11 years in prison in Oklahoma for a murder he didn't commit and he says he knows other inmates who he believes are innocent...
"It's like everybody that's been falsely convicted and has been down for a few years... you can tell when you look in somebody's eyes, another inmate, if they're telling you the truth."
Second year law student Justin Joseph says cases like Fritz's are incredible to hear...
"It seems like there's a lot of problems with our system that these guys are facing."
Two of the other speakers spent at least 15 years each behind bars for crimes they have now been cleared of.
Link

Dennis Fritz The Other Innocent Man

2009-10-25T19:42:00.005-04:00

In 1982, 21-year-old Debra Sue Carter was brutally murdered in the small town of Ada, Okla.

In 1988, former Lee’s Summit resident Dennis Fritz and his acquaintance Ron Williamson were charged and convicted of the murder. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison and Williamson received the death penalty.

On April 15, 1999, Fritz and Williamson were exonerated by DNA evidence.

In 2006 John Grisham released his first non-fiction book based on the events of the case, “The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.” And shortly after, on Oct. 6, 2006, Dennis Fritz released his own memoir about the case, “Journey Toward Justice.” On Saturday, Sept. 12, Fritz will host a book signing from 2 to 6 p.m. at Maxwell’s, 301 S.E. Douglas in downtown Lee’s Summit.

Revisiting the past

Although Fritz had already written a little about his trial, his appeals and his conviction while in prison, once he was released he wasn’t eager to revisit that portion of his life.

“Anyone who has spent several years in a penitentiary — a hard and violent place —will walk out with post traumatic stress,” Fritz told the Journal last Friday.

And he just wanted to get on with his life.

But after five years had passed, and he had adjusted to life after prison, he began to work with Grisham on “The Innocent Man.”

“I told myself, if John (Grisham) can write about my case, then so can I,” Fritz said.

But writing his own story proved to be more difficult than he had anticipated.

“It was tremendously difficult,” he said. “When I started writing my book I began to be revisited by my thoughts and fears from the trial.”

Fritz said he became almost paranoid again.

“Whenever I saw a cop car or heard sirens drive by my house I was afraid they would pull in,” he said. And Fritz had every reason to be afraid. The arresting officers and the former district attorney who prosecuted him were still telling media outlets they believed Fritz and Williamson were still guilty.

“There’s no statute of limitations on murder,” Fritz said. “I was fearful I was going to go back.”

In 2003, DNA evidence convicted another Ada resident, Glen Gore, for Carter’s murder. But after his death sentence was overturned in 2005, he was sentenced to life without parole in 2006.

The Never-ending Case

Although Gore had been convicted and both Grisham’s and Fritz’s books had been written and become widely popular, Fritz wasn’t done with his journey through the courts system. Only this time it was in civil court.

In 2007, former Pontotoc County District Attorney, William Peterson, and former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation employees, Gary Rogers and Melvin Hett, sued Fritz, Grisham and their publishers for libel.

“They made a mistake and even now, they don’t want to admit it,” Fritz said about the investigators.

In September 2008, a judge dismissed the lawsuit, calling the petition’s claims “not plausible,” but Fritz said the decision was appealed.

“From the time of her death in 1982 until now, 27 years have passed by and this is still going on,” Fritz said.

Working for the innocent

Although Fritz spent more than 11 years in prison for a crime he did not commit and is still entangled in a civil lawsuit regarding the same case, Fritz isn’t too bothered by his past these days.

“Especially after spending 12 years in a hard and violent penitentiary, nothing bothers me too much.” Fritz said. “Things are meant to happen for a reason and I was sacrificed to bring about reform.”

In fact, Fritz said his case is one of the leading cases used to expose corruptness in the legal system.

“I want to focus on bringing awareness, and I use my book for that,” he said.

Now Fritz serves as a board member for the Innocence Project, the same organization he contacted while in prison.

With the help of the organization, DNA samples found at the crime scene were re-tested and none of it was found to match DNA from either Williamson or Fritz.

Now Fritz helps the same organization that helped him. He frequently makes appearances to talk about his case and works to raise money for the organization so more innocent prisoners can be exonerated.
Source Miranda Wycoff, Journal Staff

Link

Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project’s Second Annual Awards Luncheon

2009-09-01T17:17:00.007-04:00

Over 300 Supporters Attend MAIP 2nd Annual Awards Luncheon
Seven exonerees of wrongful convictions and a best-selling legal writer were among the speakers July 15 at the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project’s Second Annual Awards Luncheon.
John Grisham, whose book The Innocent Man has helped bring light to wrongful convictions, was the keynote speaker at the event after receiving the Champion of Justice Award. Grisham was introduced by Dennis Fritz, whose struggle for freedom was chronicled in Grisham’s book.
Grisham’s speech highlighted many of the accomplishments by the innocence movement. He also stressed the need for future action, emphasizing the case of the four convicted sailors known as the Norfolk Four. Former VA. Gov. Mark Warner was given the award last year.
Fritz was joined on stage by six other exonerees. Marvin Anderson, Victor Burnette, Aaron Michael Howard,, Beverly Monroe, Earl Ruffin Marty Tankleff and Fritz each spoke about their time in prison, their exonerations and their lives outside of prison.
The legal teams that represented Howard and Tankleff were also honored, receiving the Defender of Innocence awards. Over 330 supporters, including attorneys from 30 Washington D.C. and Richmond law firms were among the guests at the luncheon, which was held at the Washington D.C. Grand Hyatt Hotel.
The MAIP 3rd Annual Awards Luncheon will be held during the summer of 2010 at a date to be determined. If you would like to be on the mailing list to receive updates on the event, please e-mail DanielSatin@gmail.com

PHOTOS OF EVENT CLICK HERE

Fabricated DNA

2009-08-18T16:58:00.002-04:00

(CBS) Scientists in Israel have successfully fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA, potentially undercutting what has been considered key evidence in the conviction or exoneration in crime cases, the New York Times reported.
According to the newspaper, the scientists also demonstrated that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person.
"Any biology undergraduate could perform this,” said Dr. Dan Frumkin, lead author of the paper, which is published online in the journal Genetics.
The paper asserts that while DNA analysis has become a centerpiece of law enforcement, the possibility that such evidence can be faked has not been considered.
"This is potentially huge news in the world of criminal justice, which hasn’t yet even fully had the time to embrace DNA for all of its uses," said CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "And I suspect it won’t be long before defense attorneys are using this study to undercut DNA analysis and conclusions in cases all over the country."
"This is potentially terrible news for prosecutors and police and the military and all sorts of industries that use DNA testing to confirm or find information," Cohen adds. "As the paper’s author says, 'You can now just engineer a crime scene.' Good news for crime dramas on television but not so much to the criminal justice system."
"It’ll be interesting to see how the legal world reacts to it and whether this study will be embraced or scorned by DNA experts here in the States," Cohen said. "But you can be sure that before too long DNA evidence in criminal cases all over will be challenged based upon these findings."
Source
CBS
Please post your comments here

Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson and Hair Analysis in Forensics

2009-08-11T20:57:00.016-04:00

In 1982, microscopic hair analysis of strands found on the body of a victim was used and Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were framed for the murder. Seventeen years later, DNA analysis of the same hair fragments was used to prove that these men were innocent.

As this case shows, hair analysis has come a long way the past thirty years.
Hair analysis, basically, is the scientific examination of a hair sample. It can be hair from a crime scene examined to find out who committed the act, or it can be hair taken from the back of your head and sent to a laboratory where it is checked for signs of health problems.
Hair analysis is still an evolving science, and while it has a lot of potential, we need to be careful about what we expect hair analysis to tell us about the person whose head it used to grow on.
The scientific basis of hair analysis
The scientific basis of hair analysis is simple: when new hair cells are forming in the hair follicle, they take in traces of substances going through the blood stream of the individual. As hair grows, the new cells push out the older ones, and as cells come out of the bulb, they die and harden - and thus create a long lasting record of whatever was in the blood of the person when they were forming.
Besides the hair stand itself, the sebum that coats the hair (from the sebaceous gland connected to the hair follicle) also contains traces of the drugs and minerals flowing through your body. And if the root or the root sheath is attached to the hair, it also provides a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) record.
Hair can thus keep a more long-lasting record of what passes through the body of an individual than either blood or urine – the body fluids which are usually used for such tests. Each hair lives about 5-6 years before it falls off the scalp.
Hair analysis techniques
A trichogram is a physical macro- and microscopic examination of hair and the scalp – the kind of hair analysis which was used to convict Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson. Today doctors use this mainly to find out why a person is losing hair, or how much of his hair are in the growing or resting or falling phases.
Modern, more sophisticated, hair analysis uses gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to chemically test hair or find its DNA composition. Usually, a pencil-tip thickness of hair close to the body (from the region behind the head just above the neck) is cut out. The hair closest to the scalp is used because it is the most recent growth, and it can be expected to show the most recent condition of the body.
The hair is usually dissolved for this procedure and the extract is analyzed for minerals, drugs, toxins or heavy metals. This data is also used, more controversially, to diagnose diseases and deficiencies/excesses in your system.
Modern methods are sensitive enough to find traces of minerals/metals/drugs that are a thousandth of a gram (microgram), or a nanogram (one billionth of a gram) or even a picogram (one thousandth of a nanogram) per gram of hair.
Hair analysis for minerals, drugs and toxins
Hair analysis is a standard medical test for chronic arsenic poisoning – the stuff of whodunits, but in real life more often seen in agricultural workers who inhale fumes containing arsenic from insecticide sprays or dust.
Another accepted use of hair analysis is to show if someone has been taking illegal drugs – cocaine, marijuana, amphetamines, or alcohol. The analyst checks for the presence of the substances themselves or their metabolites (the products of the body’s metabolism of these substances) in the strand of the hair. The results of such tests have been acceptable in courts of law a long time.
But there are a few problems with this analysis –
1. False positive or negative results are possible, so results always need to be confirmed by another technique.
2. If hair analysis shows a positive result for a substance, it is difficult to say where it came from especially if it is quite commonly found. For example, for illegal drugs like marijuana a positive result might mean the person consumed the drug, or it might only mean he was physically close when someone else was smoking it.
Hair analysis in forensics
One hair analysis case in Germany in 1990s involved a dog suspected of causing a traffic accident. Later this particular dog was found innocent of the crime because DNA taken from the dog did not match DNA taken from dog hair fragments stuck to the car.
A physical examination of the hair found in the crime scene, sometimes under a microscope, can show details like the race a person belongs to, and it be used to rule out possibilities. At this level, evidence cannot be used to identify a single person. But this can be done if the hair has root or root sheath material attached, which can be used for DNA analysis of the hair. DNA fingerprinting is accepted as definitive evidence.
Hair analysis is also used in forensics to check if a person has been sticking to a drug regimen (or a no-drug regimen). A person’s hair keeps a record of amphetamines, opium, cocaine, marijuana, and alcohol ingested for months. While hair analysis will not show if someone was driving under the influence or smoked pot yesterday (because even the hair closest to the scalp can be weeks old), it can show if he has been taking alcohol or pot the last month (or three or four or more months, depending on the length of hair available for analysis).
Source Link and more on Hair analysis potential and limits

More on Dennis Fritz Click Here

Better 10 Guilty Men Go Free than to Convict a Single Innocent Man

2009-08-11T13:02:00.038-04:00

Published: 2009-6-9
"Better 10 Guilty Men Go Free than to Convict a Single Innocent Man"
Article provided by Paul Cramm
Visit us at www.kansascity-criminal-attorney.com
The essence of this quote forms the very cornerstone of the system of justice that separates the United States from virtually every other civilized nation. Think about the presumption of innocence; the requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt; the requirement of a unanimous jury verdict. These core elements of our system of criminal justice all flow directly from the premise that the wrongful conviction of a single innocent person is ten times worse than a guilty person going unpunished.

Many of us are instinctively patriotic; downright “‘jingoistic” about the protections afforded us by the Bill of Rights: the right to be free from unlawful search and seizure of our person or effects; the right to remain silent if accused of wrongdoing; the right to be represented by counsel; the right to a trial by jury.

We take off our hats and hold our hands over our hearts when we hear the national anthem at a sporting event. We get misty eyed at images of our enlisted men and women returning from active duty. We hang our flags on Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day the Fourth of July and Presidents Day.

How many of us, however, grumble disparagingly under our breath during the evening news when a photograph of a suspect is displayed during a report of a criminal investigation, based on nothing more than the suspect's race, ethnicity or socio-economic status? How many of us could truly be fair and impartial jurors in a criminal case after we have seen or read wholly unsubstantiated news accounts of the alleged incident? How many of us refrain from commenting about sensational and salacious tidbits spread about a criminal case we have seen or heard about on the news? How many of us would honestly and sincerely honor the Defendant's Constitutional Presumption of Innocence?

If you grew up in an upper middle class (or better) family and neighborhood, there may not be anyone in your immediate or extended family who has ever even been accused, let alone convicted, of a criminal offense. It’s possible that someone in your family got a DUI on his or her way home from the annual company Christmas party, or maybe someone in your family got caught with a misdemeanor amount of marijuana while in high school or college. But the reality is that true, firsthand experience with the criminal justice system is rare among most middle and upper class registered voters: the people most likely to be called for Jury Duty.

We live in truly amazing times. An event can occur in New York and someone in Los Angeles can log on to a near "real time" live video feed. We can call from San Diego to Maine on our cell phones, from our cars, and tell each other the events of our day. News media like CNN and MSNBC provide round-the-clock coverage of national and international events. Cable networks provide real-time coverage of trials across the nation. All of this provides us access to information that may be deemed wholly unsubstantiated, unreliable and inadmissible at the ultimate trial of a sensationalized crime.

Thus, can we be "good jurors" in today's day and age? Are we able to decide cases based solely on evidence admitted into court, regardless of what we may have seen or heard about a case from local and sometimes national or even international news media? Often times being fed dramatized information from the day of the crime, which happened long before trial was scheduled? Moreover, do we all still agree that it truly is “Better that 10 guilty men go free than to convict a single innocent man” or has it become too easy to ignore the reality of wrongful conviction; as long as it isn't happening to our own neighbors?

The Innocence Project has now had some 100 death sentences overturned based upon post-conviction evidence. According to their study of the first 70 cases reversed:

• Over 30 of them involved prosecutorial misconduct.
• Over 30 of them involved police misconduct which led to wrongful convictions.
• Approximately 15 of them involved false witness testimony.
• 34% of the police misconduct cases involved suppression of exculpatory evidence.
• 11% involved outright evidence fabrication.
• 37% of the prosecutorial misconduct cases involved concealing exculpatory evidence.
• 25% involved knowing use of false testimony.

Keep in mind; these statistics involve Death Penalty cases wherein the State sought to literally kill the innocent person who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

How many of those 100 innocent, wrongly accused citizens were convicted in the media before jury selection ever began in their trial? How many were wholly deprived of their Constitutional Presumption of Innocence? If we allow ourselves to make watershed decisions far "upstream" about whom is and is not deserving of the protections afforded by our Constitution, our entire system of justice becomes a hollow shell with a predetermined outcome.

I recently had the privilege of meeting Dennis Fritz at local book club meeting to discuss his book “Journey Toward Justice.”
Dennis was charged along with Ronald Williamson for the murder in Ada Oklahoma that prompted John Grisham to write “The Innocent Man.” In Dennis’ book, he describes in a way that only first-hand experience allows what it was like to be accused, arrested, tried, convicted and imprisoned for 11 years for a crime he did not commit. The fact that OUR esteemed system of “justice” is responsible for what happened to this innocent man is chilling. We all need to remember that our system of justice is what truly separates us from all other civilized nations. The way we as a community treat those accused of crimes defines us as a nation. We must treat those accused of heinous crime with blind and impartial fairness as much for them as we do for our own integrity.

Sources:FindLaw KnowledgeBase

DENNIS FRITZ JOINS THE NATIONWIDE MARCH FOR FREEDOM

2009-06-30T13:12:00.008-04:00

Dennis Fritz Author of Journey Toward Justice"

In a way, Brett Behenna wishes he did not have to do what he is about to do.
The Edmond native will join other Oklahomans in support of family members they believe were wrongfully convicted during the state’s inaugural Freedom March, which will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday on the south steps of the state Capitol.

Other events will occur concurrently around the country.
During the local event, supporters will march along a route that will take them south from the Capitol on Lincoln Boulevard to 18th Street across the mall and north on Lincoln back to the steps. Then Behenna will speak about his brother.
On March 20, Army Ranger 1st Lt. Michael Behenna was sentenced to 25 years in prison for killing an Iraqi detainee while serving in Iraq. The soldier maintains that he acted in self defense. Government prosecutors said it was premeditated murder.
The jury did not get to hear from an expert witness who would have corroborated Behenna’s testimony. Family members are seeking a new trial. Meanwhile, Behenna is incarcerated at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Brett Behenna, a 2003 graduate of Edmond North High School who is studying law at the University of Oklahoma, said this type of public speaking will be a new experience for him, but law school has prepared him for it.
Brett said his mother, federal prosecutor Vicki Behenna, of Edmond, an adjunct law professor at the Oklahoma City University Law School, told him about the march. She was asked to participate, but had plans to visit Michael in Kansas this weekend.
“I’m nervous, but I wrote the speech,” Brett said.
Brett said during his speech he will tell Michael’s story, talk about the reason for the event, the fight for justice and how the outcome of each trial should serve justice.

Brett said he and Michael are close, that they have grown to depend on one another. Now it’s his turn to help his brother.
“I hope it’s a big turnout,” he said. “I hope to convince people that Michael’s story is one worth telling and to build support for his cause.”
Local organizer Sherri Heath said the march was organized to raise awareness about the issue of wrongful convictions.
Heath said she has met a lot of families who feel like their loved one was wrongfully convicted through the Raye Dawn Smith case. Heath is co-director of Raye of Hope, an organization that seeks to give wrongfully convicted inmates a voice.

“No one seems to listen about wrongful convictions — lawmakers mainly, judges, the governor, the public,” Heath said, noting that some legislators are aware of the problem. “There are wrongful convictions. There are prisoners who have problems. But they’re not sure what to do.”
Also, some prosecutors in Oklahoma, who are elected, like to win their cases, Heath said.
Furthermore, sometimes lawmakers don’t want to appear to be “soft on crime,” Heath said. One goal of the movement is to replace that attitude with being “smart on crime,” she said.
“We’re trying to get the ones who can change things to actually stand up and do what’s right,” Heath said.
Another issue is the emotional and financial affects of wrongful convictions on family members, Heath said. The average cost to convince the court of a wrongful conviction is $200,000-$300,000, she said.
Often, the wrongfully convicted are first-time offenders not savvy about the system, Heath said.

Raye of Hope
Other speakers will include Dennis Fritz, Author of Gayla Smith, mother of Raye Dawn Smith, and Jim Rowan, chairman of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.
Gayla Smith believes her daughter was wrongfully convicted in the much-publicized case involving her 2-year-old daughter, Kelsey Smith-Briggs.
In October 2005, Kelsey died from blunt force abdominal trauma and a jury convicted her stepfather, Michael Lee Porter, of enabling child abuse by injury. Porter was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Raye Dawn Smith is serving a 27-year sentence for enabling child abuse.
Gayla Smith contends her daughter was convicted in an unfair trial by a biased jury.
Gayla lost her father to cancer in 2003, her husband to cancer in 2004, her grandmother in 2005, her granddaughter to murder also that same year and her daughter to a wrongful conviction.
Gayla said children are raised to trust in the legal system, but individuals can be accused of anything, and it can happen to anyone.
“Once the allegation is made, it’s up to you to prove that it didn’t happen,” Gayla said.
Laura Hipperson said she traveled from London to support Raye Dawn Smith and the Freedom March. Several years ago, Hipperson heard Raye Dawn’s story. Hipperson said she researched the facts and found parts of it didn’t ring true. Source - Mark Schlachtenhaufen
The Edmond Sun
On June 27, 2009 people marched for freedom of the wrongfully convicted around the country. This is one of the news clips from the Oklahoma march. Video is from KOCO Channel Five in Oklahoma City
CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO NEWS CLIP

More On Author Dennis Fritz and His Book, "Journey Toward Justice" CLICK HERE

Praise For The Book "Journey Toward Justice" - From John Grisham
The story of the unwarranted prosecution and wrongful conviction of Dennis Fritz is compelling and fascinating. After serving eleven years for a murder he did not commit, Dennis was exonerated and had the strength and courage to put his life back together. - - John Grisham

JOHN GRISHAM AND DENNIS FRITZ TEAM UP IN THE NAME OF INNOCENCE

2009-05-26T16:09:00.020-04:00

On March 22, 2009, John Grisham and Dennis Fritz ( who is one of the two innocent men featured in Mr. Grisham’s first non-fiction book, The Innocent Man ) met in St. Louis at the legendary Renaissance Hotel, and brought the house down of around 500 people in the name of Innocence. The fundraiser was hosted by the Midwestern Innocence Project from Kansas City, Missouri. It’s Director, Tiffany Murphy, and Co-Director, Jay Swearingen, were among the excited crowd, who packed the spacious ballroom in anticipation of meeting John Grisham—the world’s greatest legal-thriller writer and advocate for justice.

The evening’s event started off with a bang, as Jay Swearingen introduced the Midwestern Innocence Project, and its related goals and objectives of freeing innocent men— from the tortures of being falsely convicted. Daryl Burton and Josh Kezer, who were recently released from long terms in prison, ( 24 and 16 years respectively ), were among the honored, exonerated people attending the featured fundraiser. Also included was Ellen Reasonover— who had spent 16 wrongful years for a murder she knew nothing about—who now resides in St. Louis, and, Johnny Briscoe, who had spent 24 years for a bogus rape charge he knew nothing about.

Master of Ceremonies, Ida Goodwin Woolfolk, started the evening’s event off by introducing Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice—the co-companion book to John Grisham’s, The Innocent Man. Dennis took the podium and began to tell a shortened version of the terrible nightmare he had went through—of spending 12 years in prison after having been falsely convicted of 1st Degree Capital Murder. The crowd became very silent as Dennis spoke of the tremendous hurdles and obstacles he and his family had to overcome.

Dennis then blended his very painful circumstances to begin his introduction of John Grisham, and how his writing of The Innocent Man, has had a tremendous, positive impact upon our justice system. As Dennis shared his story of how he had met John, and worked with him during his writing of The Innocent Man, one could feel a stirring in the crowd—that was filled with anticipation and eagerness— to see and hear Mr. Grisham speak. Since John and Dennis had done several fundraisers before, it was easy to sense the already-developed friendship between the two.

Upon being introduced, the crowd roared with delight and exhilaration as John walked up to the podium. After Dennis and John hugged while passing the microphone, Dennis was called back to the podium and a celebration cake was brought out in his honor for his 10th year of freedom. A thunderous round of ovation filled the ballroom as Dennis finished blowing out the candles. What a wonderful touch for a perfect evening. As always, John displayed his eloquent demeanor and speaking ability, as he began describing, in detail, his writing of The Innocent Man. The crowd was entranced from the very beginning, as John conveyed to the audience how he had first gotten the idea, to write his first non-fiction book—after having read an obituary in New York City about the death of Ronnie Williamson.

As John continued to speak about his overall experiences in writing, The Innocent Man (and the reasons why), the crowd drifted into a noticeable, relaxed state due to John’s easy-going and down-to-earth manner. The audience’s pedestal perceptions had now faded. Now, the greatest legal-thriller writer in the world—whom everyone idolized—had also become in everyone’s mind and spirit, a real-to life person who shoots straight from the hip, without any pretense, whatsoever!
More than anything else, everyone in the audience became aware of what John was really all about:
He not only was able to talk the talk, but also, there was no doubt that he could walk the walk— by being a true, blue advocate of overall, by-the-book justice.
Next, the special awards ceremony began by commemorating the following attorney’s:
Cheryl Pilate, who was responsible for the exoneration for Ellen Reasonover and Darryl Burton ( in conjunction with The Centurion Ministries-Jim McCloskey ), Shawn O’brian, who pulled Joe Amrine out of prison after having served 25 years, and Attorney Charlie Weiss, who was directly responsible for helping to exonerate Josh Keezer.

Chris Koster, Missouri’s 41st elected Attorney General, then took the stage and acted as the auctioneer for the evening’s event. What a smashing success! An entire collection of Grisham’s originally-printed books, were sold to the highest bidder for a substantial sum of money.
Also, Steve Stolze who owned a condo in Hawaii, allowed it to be auctioned off for a substantial amount of money. Next, a dinner for six (6) with Robin Carnahan—Missouri’s Secretary of State—was sold to the highest bidder.

All of this auction money went to the Midwestern Innocence Project for their costly work of freeing wrongfully-convicted people. .

The finale of the evening’s event was an announced invitation for the 5 falsely convicted people ( including, Dennis Fritz ) to come to the stage— carrying a piece of paper with their prison numbers written on it— and after giving a brief, verbal description of what they had been charged with, and how much time they had wrongfully spent in prison, they raised their arms and ripped their prison numbers into. The crowd clapped loudly as each inmate delivered his ceremonial announcement of freedom. Wow!
What a powerful evening it was—for the cause of justice and freedom!

CLICK HERE for great photos of the event

DENNIS FRITZ RON WILLIAMSON STORY WITH PHOTO

2009-04-26T15:05:00.012-04:00

It took more than 11 years for Kansas City’s Dennis Fritz to be proven innocent of a murder he didn’t commit and released from an Oklahoma prison.
Dennis Fritz (left) and Ron Williamson upon their release from an Oklahoma prison in 1999.

Dennis Fritz author of "Journey Toward Justice"

It took three more years and the help of Kansas City attorney and MIP Board member Cheryl Pilate to obtain the compensation which Fritz and fellow exoneree Ron Williamson deserved for their wrongful convictions and years of incarceration. Fritz and Williamson were arrested, tried and convicted in the sexual assault and murder of 21-year old Debra Sue Carter, who was found strangled in December 1982 in Ada, Oklahoma.

In 1988, Fritz and Williamson were convicted in separate trials based partially on microscopic hair comparisons, done as part of a scientific testing method which has since been largely discredited. Fritz and Williamson were also convicted based on testimony of witness Glen Gore, an informant who was later proved through DNA testing to be the real killer. Gore has since been convicted of the rape and murder of Carter.

Fritz received a sentence of life in prison, while Williamson was given the death penalty.

At one point, Williamson came within five days of execution before a court intervened.
If not for DNA evidence saved from the scene and later tested, Fritz might still be incarcerated for the rape and murder. Both he and Williamson were exonerated and released from an Oklahoma prison in 1999 based on the results of DNA testing. Fritz was incarcerated from 1988 to 1999, during a large part of his daughter’s childhood — time he can never get back. “That makes his story even more tragic,” said Pilate, who helped Fritz seek financial compensation for his wrongful incarceration.

“Dennis not only had to live through the horror of prison, but he also missed out on watching his daughter grow up.”

For his part, Fritz is philosophical about his time in prison and the subsequent legal fight to gain his freedom and compensation. The publicity generated by the case helped focus attention on the wrongful incarceration issue.
“It made me feel like that if I had to go through this, there was some purpose,” said Fritz. In 2002, the City of Ada and the State of Oklahoma settled the lawsuits brought by Fritz and Williamson for significant amount, which cannot be disclosed because of a confidentiality agreement.

Fritz has remained active with the Innocence Movement in Kansas City, helping the Midwestern Innocence Project with fund-raising projects and keeping in touch with other local exonerees who are readjusting to society.

Williamson has not fared as well, however. Upon his release in 1999, he continued to experience mental health problems.

Once an aspiring baseball player, Williamson deteriorated dramatically in prison and was moved to an Oklahoma psychiatric hospital. Sadly, in 2004, Williamson passed away. “I cannot think of two better examples of why it is important to allow inmates with provable, justifiable claims of innocence to have their day in court,” said Pilate. “Science has progressed to a point where if physical evidence still exists in cases that are five, ten, 15 years old, the key to proving actual innocence is likely at the justice system’s fingertips.

We need to make the appeals process easier for those inmates who can legitimately claim innocence through previously unavailable scientific evidence or testimony from witnesses who may not have been brought to the attention of the court during trial.”

Source Midwestern Innocence Project

DENNIS FRITZ AND JEFF STACK TRAVEL TO JEFFERSON CITY TO LOBBY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

2009-04-24T15:16:00.005-04:00

On March 5, 2009, Dennis Fritz and long-time activist Jeff Stack traveled to the State Capital in Jefferson City, Missouri, to lobby on getting the death penalty abolished. Dennis and Jeff spent the morning and the entire afternoon, speaking to members of both the House and Senate, to gain their combined support in abolishing the death penalty.

The numerous contacts that Jeff and Dennis made really paid off. Some of the Senators’ and House members, who had been previously staunch, pro death penalty advocates, whole-heartedly promised to give their full considerations in modifying their decisions making about the death penalty.

That evening, Dennis spoke to an assembly of Missouri University students, about the horrors of having been falsely incarcerated for 12 years in a very harsh Oklahoma penitentiary—for the crime of 1st Degree Capital murder, that he knew nothing about, whatsoever!

It was yet, another small victory for Dennis Fritz— in the picture as a whole— of dedicating himself to bring about that greater awareness of false convictions—to anyone and everyone that will listen.

PHOTOS CLICK HERE

DENNIS FRITZ - JEFF STACK TRAVEL TO JEFFERSON CITY TO LOBBY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

2009-04-14T12:45:00.005-04:00

DENNIS FRITZ AND JEFF STACK TRAVEL TO JEFFERSON CITY TO LOBBY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

On March 5, 2009, Dennis Fritz and long-time activist Jeff Stack traveled to the State Capital in Jefferson City, Missouri, to lobby on getting the death penalty abolished. Dennis and Jeff spent the morning and the entire afternoon, speaking to members of both the House and Senate, to gain their combined support in abolishing the death penalty.
The numerous contacts that Jeff and Dennis made really paid off. Some of the Senators’ and House members, who had been previously staunch, pro death penalty advocates, whole-heartedly promised to give their full considerations in modifying their decisions making about the death penalty.
That evening, Dennis spoke to an assembly of Missouri University students, about the horrors of having been falsely incarcerated for 12 years in a very harsh Oklahoma penitentiary—for the crime of 1st Degree Capital murder, that he knew nothing about, whatsoever! It was yet, another small victory for Dennis Fritz— in the picture as a whole— of dedicating himself to bring about that greater awareness of false convictions—to anyone and everyone that will listen.

John Grisham TV Video with Related Links

2009-04-08T19:31:00.005-04:00

John Grisham was interviewed at the Virginia Festival of the book. He discussed his career as a novelist, his writing practices, and his research on his lone nonfiction title, The Innocent Man. His latest novel is The Associate.
Other topics are:
Death Penalty - Wrongful Convictions - Ron Williamson - Dennis Fritz - Debra Sue Carter. A fantastic video. I highly recommend viewing
C-Span Video Library(click here)
Length: 46 minutes
Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
"The Innocent Man" - John Grisham’s first work of nonfiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, is his most extraordinary legal thriller yet.

In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits—drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness.
Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa.

In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime.

For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz.
The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder.With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row.

If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you

If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you.

If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

RELATED LINKS
> John Grisham's Web site
> John Grisham's MySpace Page
> John Grisham's Facebook Page
Dennis Fritz

Dennis Fritz Guest Speaker at First Christian Church in St. Joseph MO.

2009-04-06T13:02:00.014-04:00

"A matter of life or death," by Erin Wisdom is in the Saturday St. Joseph News-Press.

Dennis Fritz lost 11 years of his life.

Mr. Fritz, who now lives in Kansas City, was sentenced to life in prison in 1988 after being charged with the murder of a woman who worked at a bar in Ada, Okla., he’d been known to frequent. Police claimed that hair found at the crime scene had been microscopically analyzed and determined to be his.

It wasn’t until 1999 that further DNA testing revealed the hair was not Mr. Fritz’s but actually belonged to the man who had been the state’s main witness at Mr. Fritz’s trial. Mr. Fritz was freed at last — but not before years of injustice took away his chance to see his daughter grow up and to otherwise live his life as he should have been able to.

Unfortunately, statistics show Mr. Fritz isn’t alone in being wrongly charged with murder and suffering severe consequences because of it. Some have been exonerated only after being put to death for crimes they allegedly committed — and it’s in light of this that First Christian Church in St. Joseph has hosted Mr. Fritz and others with similar stories who shared about their experiences.

In addition, the church voted Sunday to pass a resolution calling for a moratorium on executions of Missouri inmates on death row. This resolution supports a bill now in the Missouri legislature — HB 1870 — sponsored by Rep. Bill Deeken of Jefferson City. If the bill is passed, no executions will take place in Missouri until 2012. And during this moratorium period, a committee will study the details of cases in which the death penalty has been sought and will recommend remedies for deficiencies it finds.

“In Matthew 25, Jesus specifically mentions ministry to people in prison as ministry to him,” says the Rev. Chase Peeples, pastor of First Christian. “In our society, there is perhaps no group that could be considered 'the least of these’ more than people in prison, especially those in death row. Without approving of any crimes that may have been committed, we can declare that because of God’s love for them, each person on death row deserves a fair trial, competent legal counsel and access to the latest in DNA technology.”
Link

PROFESSOR CHRIS HUTTON AND DENNIS FRITZ JOIN FORCES IN BRINGING NEW DNA LAW INTO SOUTH DAKOTA

2009-04-05T16:09:00.000-04:00

Christine Hutton, Professor of Law at the University of South Dakota, celebrated victory after having teamed up with Dennis Fritz in successfully bringing about a new post-conviction DNA law to South Dakota.
Dennis Fritz, one of the two main characters in John Grisham’s book, The Innocent Man and author of "Journey Toward Justice".
As mentioned in the previous story, (link HERE)
Mr. Fritz and Professor Hutton had convinced the S.D. House committee members, to unanimously allow the Professor’s proposed DNA bill onto the House Floor. Shortly thereafter, the House also unanimously voted the DNA bill in. Within a couple of weeks the bill was passed to the Senate, whereas, a landslide victory occurred by a majority of the Senate committee member’s votes.

What a victory this was for South Dakota. Now, any inmate claiming his innocence— with DNA involved— will have the right to do the DNA testing, under the bill’s narrowed provisions. South Dakota had been one of six states that did not have a DNA bill available.

A sweeping domino effect miraculously occurred. Within a week after the DNA bill passed in South Dakota, Mississippi’s legislative House and Senate, both voted the post-conviction DNA bill into law. Professor Hutton and Mr. Fritz are still celebrating as of today! What a wonderful tribute to these two people, in stepping forth to bring about the needed change which will free many innocent people in prison.
Hoooray!!!!

Dennis Fritz Story Listen Here An Amazing Interview

2009-03-17T22:19:00.008-04:00

Oklahoma Voices: Dennis Fritz Author of “Journey Toward Justice" -
Dennis Fritz's case was recounted by novelist John Grisham in the non-fiction book "The Innocent Man." Dennis Fritz goes into great detail about case in this amazing interview.
- Monday, December 8, 2008
LISTEN HERE MP3
In September, a federal judge dismissed a libel lawsuit filed by former Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson, a former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent and a state criminologist. The men claimed their reputations had been damaged by best-selling author John Grisham and two other writers who had authored books about the wrongful convictions and subsequent exonerations of two Ada men for a 1982 murder. In his ruling, Judge Ronald White wrote, “Where the justice system so manifestly failed, and innocent people were imprisoned for eleven years (and one almost put to death), it is necessary to analyze and criticize our judicial system (and the actors involved) so that past mistakes do not become future ones.” The plaintiffs are now asking a federal appeals court to reinstate their suit.
NPR SOURCE KGOU NEWS

GRISHAMS’ INNOCENT MAN, SPEAKS TO SOUTH DAKOTA LEGISLATURE ON POST CONVICTION DNA TESTING

2009-03-15T15:43:00.007-04:00

Photo - Dennis Fritz and Chief Justice David Gilbertson

South Dakota is one of six states that does not have a legislative bill passed for the availability of post-conviction DNA testing.
On February 11, 2009, Dennis Fritz, along with Professor of Law at the University of South Dakota, Christine Hutton, traveled to Pierre—the Capitol of S.D.— to present a bill to the House committee for post-conviction DNA testing. Law students, LaRae Hancock and McLean Thompson ( from U.S.D. ) accompanied the Professor and Mr. Fritz— whereby extending their lobbying support.
Professor Hutton, who authored her own revision of the existent DNA bill, that was vetoed back in 2003, introduced Dennis Fritz—one of the two main characters in John Grishams’ The Innocent Man, and author of his own book, Journey Toward Justice.

Mr. Fritz immediately captured the attention of every House committee member. In a very deliberate and serious tone of voice, Mr. Fritz spoke to the committee members about the human side of his own tragic experience. As such, Dennis was denied DNA testing by the Oklahoma courts throughout his 12 year, wrongful incarceration.
Each House member listened intently as Mr. Fritz continued with his spell binding descriptions, of the enormous pain and suffering that he and his family had went through.

When Mr. Fritz had concluded his presentation, the looks on the House members’ faces clearly showed that they were greatly moved by his words.
Next, Mr. Fritz yielded the floor back to Professor Hutton, who went into detail about the strengths of her proposed DNA bill. Christine spoke to the committee members with an air of confidence and boldness. She keenly presented each feature of her 1 page DNA bill. Her clever delivery was to the point and matter of fact. The individual House members soaked in every word that Professor Hutton said. No one in the almost-full audience, dared to make a sound.

It went without saying, that the House members were in full agreement with the Professor. Yes, South Dakota DID need a DNA bill which would provide, that anyone claiming their innocence— who met certain specific guidelines—would be granted the long, sought after DNA testing. Sure enough!

After the opposition took their turn in attempting to argue the merits of Professor Hutton’s DNA bill, the House committed responded by delivering their own verbal discussions. Yea! Every House committee member voted to allow the proposed DNA bill to pass onward to the floor on the following day. Before leaving the Capitol building, Mr. Fritz and his group was introduced to Chief Justice David Gilbertson, in his chambers.

The Chief Justice was such a intelligent and wonderful, down-to-earth human being. He took great pleasure in welcoming us. Thereafter, the Chief Justice himself gave the assembled group a dynamic tour of the Appellate Court where he now presides. The courtroom was nothing short of a work of art, as to its crafted, flowing architecture displaying the legal themes within. What a day to remember.

After a couple of weeks went by, the long-awaited news had finally come. The House of Representatives passed the DNA bill through its legislature. Wooow! What a victory this was. Now, before the DNA bill could go into law, it will have to pass the Senate also by a majority vote. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
This was a huge step forward for every innocent person that is incarcerated, not only in the state of South Dakota, but everywhere across our strong and unified nation.

PHOTOS OF EVENT HERE

John Grishams' Innocent Man Speaks at Missouri University

2009-03-15T12:47:00.007-04:00

Exonerated Former Prisoners Speak at Missouri University
Staff Photographer

Dennis Fritz signs a copy of his book 'Journey Toward Justice' for Deanna Harper on Wednesday. The book recounts Fritz's experience after he was arrested and convicted for a murder he did not commit.

After being released from prison 16 days earlier, Joshua Kezer spoke at MU about what it was like to be wrongly incarcerated for the same number of years.
Kezer and Dennis Fritz, who served 12 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of murder, described their experiences to students at a lecture in the Arts and Sciences Building Wednesday night.

Both were convicted of murder and subsequently freed after DNA evidence cleared them of all charges. Kezer and Fritz maintained their innocence throughout their prison sentences. Fritz said he had never even met the person he was accused of murdering.

"The implication of me being remotely involved in something I didn't even know about, let alone a murder charge, was something that -- it disturbed me greatly," Fritz said.
Fritz's case was recounted by novelist John Grisham in the non-fiction book "The Innocent Man."

The combined 28 years the two men served in prison have given them resolve to raise awareness about other innocent people who may still be behind bars.
"The reality is that there are men in prison right now that have stories to tell, that have claims of innocence, many of which I know personally," Kezer said.

A bill has been proposed in the Missouri Legislature this year that could help exonerate some of these innocent people. The bill would place a moratorium on all executions in the state for two to three years. This time could then be used to re-examine inmates' cases for inconsistencies or new evidence that could lead to an acquittal.

Jeff Stack, coordinator for Mid-Missouri Fellowship for Reconciliation, said while the bill was far from abolishment of the death penalty, any opportunity to reexamine past cases was valuable.
"I was fortunate to not be on death row, but I could've ended up there," Kezer said. "The purpose of this is to remember that if there's innocent people who've spent years in prison standing before you now, talking about how their cases were overturned, then there are innocent people on death row."

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1973, the total number of death row inmates in the U.S. exonerated through the use of new testimony or evidence has risen to 130. There have been three in Missouri.

Leslie Ferguson, mother of Ryan Ferguson, a convicted murderer who maintains that he is innocent, said the moratorium law means a lot to someone in her situation.
"When you experience it first hand there is no way that you can condone the death penalty," Ferguson said. "I mean it has been proven that innocent people have been executed and it's found out after their execution they were innocent, and that should never happen. It's a scary thing. If Ryan, or Dennis, or Josh can get convicted of a crime it can happen to anybody, it can happen to you."

In the Missouri Legislature, the Senate version of the moratorium bill cleared the Senate Progress and Development Committee on Wednesday while the House version has been referred to the Public Safety Committee, and no hearing has been set.

Kezer said he hopes the legislation passes, so that other innocent people wrongfully incarcerated could also get a second chance.
"Let's pray that something is done, to give people the opportunity to tell their story before they're dead and they just become some kind of history, some remembered name, some memorial," Kezer said. "I'd rather see them out here living a productive life, teaching us, learning from them, than just wasting away with nothing to look forward but liquids running through their veins."
* * Correction:
In the March 5 report "Exonerated former prisoners speak at MU", the reason for Joshua Keser's exoneration was inaccurate. Keser was exonerated because of the discovery of new evidence for the case. The Maneater regrets the error.
(Added 3:55 p.m., March 12, 2009)

Source By Will Guldin
Published March 5, 2009
link

DENNIS FRITZ SPEAKS TO MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

2009-03-04T12:55:00.010-05:00

Dennis Fritz, one of the two main characters in John Grisham’s book, The Innocent Man and author of "Journey Toward Justice", traveled to Duluth, Minnesota, to speak to the state’s Department of Corrections on October 31, 2008. Dan Raden, a guard for the Department of Corrections invited Mr. Fritz, to speak to correction officials at a yearly-held conference in Duluth, Mn.

A gala rally was held the night before the event at a local establishment in Duluth. Over a hundred plus correctional attendees crowded into the jam packed confines of the two story structure. Guards, counselors, case managers, and up, were emotionally fit for the evening’s excitement.
After a lot of hard work over the past year, it was now time for the correctional people to have some fun. Hilarious jokes and spilling-over laughter created a roar of emotion as the evening progressed.
Of course, this was the very first time that Mr. Fritz had mingled on a personal level with Department of Correction officers and staff. After having spent 12 years in an Oklahoma prison for 1st Degree Capital Murder, Mr. Fritz was now enjoying himself while getting to know the various levels of prison personal.

At first, Mr. Fritz was a little slow in opening up to the people, who at one time, had held him behind bars for a crime that he did not commit.
The next day, after a rather short night’s sleep, Mr. Fritz took the podium and told his very gruesome story of being falsely convicted of a life sentence that was spent in a very harsh prison environment. All ears and eyes were focused upon him as he described his painful circumstances from his arrest onward. Now, the tables had turned.

The correction people were captivated, while learning from Mr. Fritz’s descriptions, as to his roller-coaster ride out of hell. After speaking, the audience asked many questions concerning their own prison experiences. It was a day of great interactions between Mr. Fritz and the D.O.C. people. It resulted in a most productive learning experience after having heard the flip sides from two different perspectives.
Mr. Fritz had accomplished his mission—to bring about that always needed, much greater awareness of the impact of how false convictions can destroy, not only the person’s life, but also, the moral fabric of society as a whole.

Supreme Court Hears DNA Case - Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld argued before the U.S. Supreme Court

2009-03-03T16:40:00.004-05:00

Supreme Court Hears DNA Case
On March 2, Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the constitution allows prisoners access to DNA testing that can prove their innocence. The Innocence Project represents William Osborne, who has been seeking DNA testing in Alaska for years. Click here for resources on the case, media coverage, videos and more.
From The Innocence Project website

Innocence Project client William Osborne was convicted in Alaska in 1993 for a crime that DNA testing could prove he didn't commit. Alaska has arbitrarily refused Osborne’s requests for DNA testing for years – even though the testing would be performed at no cost to the state, and the state now concedes that DNA testing could prove his innocence.

High Court Considers Convicts' Rights to DNA Testing

2009-03-03T15:56:00.008-05:00

This is great new:
An eye witness and a jailhouse snitch said he did it. But a man convicted 16 years ago of rape says he's in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
William Osborne says a DNA test would prove he's innocent. But the question is whether the DNA trumps all other evidence.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on the case that could guarantee due process of law to convicts seeking evidence that could exonerate them.

When convicted of the brutal rape and kidnapping of a prostitute in 1993, Osborne said he didn't do it.
"It's extremely hard for me to sit here and hear all the accusations, charges that basically make me look like a monster," Osborne said at his sentencing hearing.
Osborne reportedly confessed to the rape during a parole hearing, but now says a condom found at the crime scene will prove his innocence.

"If there is biological material connected to the crime, which the State of Alaska has conceded, which if tested could prove him innocent -- it might also prove him certainly guilty. But it would show one way or another," said David Rudovsky, a University of Pennsylvania law professor who has represented several inmates freed after post-conviction DNA tests.
Prosecutors claim convicts aren't entitled to post-conviction DNA testing. But last year an appeals court ruled in Osborne's favor.
Nationwide, DNA tests have exonerated 232 convicts, including Dennis Fritz, who spent 12 years in prison.
"When someone's denied DNA testing, and finally after years and years they are granted testing and it proves that they are in fact innocent, that means that for all of those years there is someone else out there that was actually the perpetrator," Fritz said.

Osborne's attorney decided against examining the semen sample prior to his first trial, fearing it could conclusively link him to the crime.
Alaska is one of only six states that do not allow prisoners to petition for DNA testing. Attorneys for Alaska say prisoners don't have the right to old evidence.

"Now he's trying to play procedural games to get out of prison," said Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge who spoke on behalf of victims' rights. "Osborne should be required to go through the normal process to get access to this kind of information -- he should have to file a habeas corpus petition. That way he would be respecting crime victims' rights."
The Innocence Project -- an organization that aims to help prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing -- is arguing the case on behalf of Osborne.

"Alaska has set up this mechanism that gives people the opportunity to prove their actual innocence, and yet it won't give them the one test, which is probably the only test, that would meet that quantum of evidence needed to prove your actual innocence," said Peter Neufeld, co-director of the Innocence Project.
States that don't allow the testing fear a ruling against them will open the floodgates to prisoners making the request, with the states picking up the tab.

But the Innocence Project says that's not the case.
"It's not a key to open the door of the courthouse," said Bill Oberly, director of the Alaska Innocence Project. "There are very few people who have actual innocence claims."
The case before the Supreme Court could strengthen the rights of prisoners across the nation who may be innocent but still wait. The court expressed some skepticism about giving a broad constitutional right to convicts facing DNA testing.
But Justice David Souter says a person should be able to test claims of innocence.
Contact Ashton Goodell at agoodell@ktuu.com

Please visit site below to watch news videos of this story
Source KTUU.com Alaska's news and information source High court considers convicts' rights to DNA testing

DENNIS FRITZ OPPOSES THE DEATH PENALTY

2009-03-01T21:42:00.004-05:00

Missouri Western hosted the Road Trip for Justice, a series of speaking tours about the Death Penalty on Feb. 15.
Sponsored by Western’s Newman Club and co-sponsored by Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, Amnesty International and the AJ Muste Memorial Institute, the Road Trip for Justice was designed for the purpose of engaging others to think about the Death Penalty and its consequences.

The speakers included Dennis Fritz, who was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder and spent 11 years behind bars before being exonerated by DNA evidence; Linda Taylor, whose son Michael has been on death row since 1991; and Bess Klassen-Landis, whose mother was brutally raped and murdered when she was 13 years old.

At the event, Fritz discussed the terror he and his co-defendant Ron Williamson experienced during 11 years of incarceration and his life mission to bring about a greater awareness of false convictions. Taylor shared the story of her son’s arrest and trial, and the events of Feb. 1, 2006, the day her son was to be executed before receiving a stay of execution. Klassen-Landis describes the fear she lived in and reminded the audience that no matter what they did, those on death row are still human beings, not monsters.

Taylor, who works with Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty, believes that the event achieved its purpose.
“I hope it will give them an opportunity…to educate themselves concerning the Death Penalty,” Taylor said.
Kayla Kelder, a psychology-spanish major at Western, is the president of the Newman Club. Kelder argues that the event is not designed to abolish the Death Penalty nor talk down to those in favor of the Death Penalty, but rather to rationalize the worth of human life.
“How can we say that killing someone who’s killed someone shows that the killing is wrong?” Kelder said. “We should lead by example and that’s not doing it.”
Rachel Hansen, secretary of the Newman Club, was in attendance. Hansen feels the event has a very deep purpose.
“If we try to understand each other first, we’ll have a much better grasp on what another person believes,” Hansen said.
Regardless of whether or not the Death Penalty is abolished as a result of this speaking tour and the ones to follow, Kelder hopes that the Road Trip for Justice will succeed in showing people how the Death Penalty affects everyone.
“We’re all interconnected in this great big thing called human life,” Kelder said. “Life is worth so much. We all effect each other in one way or another.”
Source By jesse_west • February 19, 2009
Speakers oppose death penalty The Griffon News

Books Related to the Ward and Fontenot Case And If They Did It....

2009-03-01T12:43:00.017-05:00

I thought it would be interesting to do this interesting post, "If They Did It" or "Why You Could NEVER Convince Me" and you as a reader finish it. To do this go to the bottom of post and click on the small word comments below and add your story. If approved I will post it. I can not edit comments, so please use spell check. If "THEY", meaning Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot are the real killers of Denice Haraway.

THE INNOCENT MAN SPEAKS AT LASALLE UNIVERSITY

2009-02-09T22:03:00.006-05:00

Dennis Fritz, one of the two main characters in John Grisham’s, The Innocent Man, was invited by Professor David Culp, to speak at Lasalle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 22, 2008
After landing at the airport, Mr. Fritz headed for the historic, Chestnut Hill Hotel, located in Chesthill, Pa. on Germantown Avenue—which is noted for it’s cobblestone brick streets and giant, historical mansions.

The age of the hotel itself, dates back to 1684; radiating its alluring charm and wealth of age-less secrets.
With the smell of late fall permeating through the crisp, afternoon air, Dennis exited the cab and checked into the hotel—with a surge of tingling excitement budding within. This was yet another opportunity for Dennis to tell his electrifying story to the gathered group of law professors and students at the Lasalle University. Mr. Fritz has continuously traveled throughout the country— at many different Law Universities—to bring about the much- needed greater awareness of wrongful convictions.

Following Mr. Fritz’s wrongful conviction of First Degree Capital Murder ( in which he had spent 12 painful years on a life sentence, before being released upon the strength of DNA evidence ), Dennis had the strength and courage to write his own book, entitled Journey Toward Justice. Dennis’ co-companion book— to that of Grisham’s, The Innocent Man— literally rocked the legal world as to their unfolding descriptions, of the devastating injustices that occurred in the murder cases against himself and his co-defendant, Ronald Williamson.

All ears and eyes hinged upon every word that Mr. Fritz described, about his horrifying case circumstances, at the Lasalle speaking engagement.
At the close of Mr. Fritz’s talk, everyone was emotionally moved—as to the out-right, grave details that had been painfully expressed by Mr. Fritz. Upon departing, everyone left with a much greater awareness, of the extreme legal injustices that had occurred in Mr. Fritz’s wrongful conviction.
In all, Dennis was so thankful that he had gotten another opportunity to tell his whole story—in bringing about the truth, in attempting to prevent, yet another false conviction.

Photos of Event HERE

DENNIS FRITZ, THE INNOCENT MAN, SPEAKS TO LOCAL AREA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

2008-12-22T13:44:00.018-05:00

Dennis Fritz, one of the two innocent men in John Grisham’s best selling novel, The Innocent Man, spoke to very packed auditorium of students at the Oak Park High School, near his surrounding neighborhood in North Kansas City. Having been invited by Carrie Hankins, Mr. Fritz took time off from his very busy speaking circuit, to share his dynamic story with the assembly of on-looking, eager students.

Mr. Fritz spoke for 45 minutes with all eyes glued upon him. Dennis captivated the 200+ audience with his very witty, storytelling ability. His very emotional, roller-coaster story out-of-hell— of having been falsely convicted of 1st Degree Capital Murder— touched the hearts of even the most unruliest of students. The students were so attentive and quietly focused to each and every word that Mr. Fritz spoke. Throughout Mr. Fritz’s presentation, it was so untypically quiet, that a straight pin could almost be heard hitting the floor.
Dennis spoke of his book, Journey Toward Justice, and what motivated him to write it.

On occasion, Mr. Fritz, would hesitate in silent thought—with the assembled group feeling his outright, overwhelming emotion from within. At the close of his story, which drew laughter intermingled with triumphant cheer, the students gave Dennis a standing ovation of applause.

Thereafter, Mr. Fritz signed books and visited with some students and staff. Dennis said that, "I will bring forth my story to anyone at any level. If my words can stop just one person from being falsely convicted, then, the 12 long, torturous years I suffered in prison—would be more than worth, it’s weight in gold.

WATCH SLIDE SHOW OF THE OCT. 2008 EVENT HERE

DENNIS FRITZ, KEY-NOTE SPEAKER AT THE MINNESOTA U.S. PARDON AND PROBATION CONFERENCE

2008-12-20T19:58:00.004-05:00

Kevin Lowry, ( head of the U.S. Pardon and Probation Department ), and Darren Kearns ( a higher level case Manager with the Minnesota Pardon and Probation ), extended an honored invitation to Dennis Fritz, to be the key-note speaker at the Department’s annual conference— at the Cragun’s Lodge and Resort on the Gull Lake, on September 24 and 25th of 2008.

Upon Dennis’ arrival, the Pardon and Probation officials gathered for an entertaining get together, shortly before a scheduled dinner event at the very popular Hotel. Everyone was so excited and ready to commence with the upcoming, numerous activities planned for the advancement of innovative ideas— whereby accomplishing their desired goals for future accomplishments within their well-organized Department expectations.

That evening, a beautiful display of fireworks illuminated the sky, commemorating everyone’s hard work and devotion, of having made past and present improvements within the Department. It was a night to remember, as everyone relaxed and visited with each other during the lengthy firework display.

Dennis intermingled with each of the attendees and made many new acquaintances and friends.
The following day was filled with a business-like atmosphere—in getting ready for the finality of the day’s agenda. Following a deliciously prepared lunch, everyone anxiously awaited the key-note presentation of Dennis Fritz.
All eyes were glued upon him as he took the podium and shared his horror-filled ( of having been falsely incarcerated for 12 years for 1st Degree Murder ) story with over a 100+ Pardon and Probation officers.

Mr. Fritz explained to the group that he was one of the two main characters in John Grisham’s, The Innocence Man. Mr. Fritz explained that his recently written book, Journey Toward Justice, was the celebrated, co-companion book to Grisham’s The Innocent Man. Being a true advocate of Justice, Dennis related to the group about the many problems that occur in prison, and of all the factors that cause a released inmate to return to prison. The assemble group showed great anticipation as to each and every description Mr. Fritz brought forth.

Following his talk, Dennis signed books and visited with everyone who wanted to talk with him—on a one-to-one basis. All in all, the conference was a huge success— that brought forth a much greater understanding and awareness— of the underlying causes associated with the recidivism rates of inmates returning to prison. Throughout the two day event, a wonderful and lasting partnership was made between Mr. Fritz and the attending U.S. Pardon and Probation members. Each of them had great respect and admiration for their united efforts in making the needed changes in the current system.

PHOTOS OF EVENT HERE - U.S. PARDON AND PROBATION COMFERENCE
You can buy Dennis Fritz's book, on Amazon HERE or you can email me for a signed copy or for large orders.

DENNIS FRITZ AND TIFFANY MURPHY JOIN FORCES AT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

2008-12-14T15:30:00.005-05:00

On November 12, 2008, Dennis Fritz and Tiffany Murphy ( Director of the Midwestern Innocence Project in Kansas City, Missouri ), attended the 60th annual gala event, at the American Society of Criminology in St. Louis, Missouri.

Upon invitation from Barbara Zaitzow,(the Chair person for the Appalachian State University Criminology Dept. ) Dennis Fritz and Tiffany Murphy met Barbara for the first time at the convention. Barbara’s zeal and radiant personality greatly inspired Dennis and Tiffany—as well as everyone else around her. Within the beautiful setting of the Hyatt Hotel ( located directly beside the renowned Arch, overlooking the mighty Mississippi ) thousands of people from all over the world, joined together, to gain a greater understanding about the theory and insight, of different types of criminal behavior. The atmosphere was bussing with high excitement and jubilation, as everyone anxiously checked into their rooms, and headed directly for registration.

Dennis quickly found a table and set up his books, then circulated throughout the crowds introducing himself; while making many new friends and future contacts. Even though the actual programs did not start until the next day, people were still coming in by the groves to get an early start on the beginning of the three day event.

After a long and luxurious breakfast, Dennis, Tiffany, and Barbara made their way upstairs to their assigned Rose Garden conference room. Before the event, Dennis and Tiffany just happened to bump into Cathleen Burnett, who is one of Kansas City’s very own leaders, in the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Once inside the conference room, Dennis, Tiffany, and Barbara took their places at the panel table. To an audience of around 50 people, Barbara began by introducing Mr. Fritz and Ms. Murphy. After sharing some of her own insights with the group, Barbara turned over the podium to Dennis, to tell his nightmare out-of-hell story, of having been wrongfully convicted of 1st Degree Capital Murder. He was sentenced to a life sentence, and had to do 12 hard, torturous years in a very tough penitentiary—before being exonerated by DNA evidence. As usual, Dennis gained everyone’s astute attention throughout his spellbinding presentation.

Next, Tiffany began her presentation by sharing with the audience, the tremendous hurdles and obstacles that have to be overcome in effectively running an innocence Project. Tiffany’s strong and assertive words were not only clear and convincing, but had everyone on the edge of their seats. When Tiffany finished, everyone in the room was much more aware and educated as to the overall pitfalls in successfully establishing an inmate’s actual innocence. Following her talk, each of the 3 panelists answered questions—which were quite diverse and challenging. At the close, Mr. Fritz autographed several of his book(s)—Journey Toward Justice!
What a wonderful and powerful conference this year turned out to be.
Click here for photos of event

DENNIS FRITZ at Buena Vista University

2008-11-29T21:54:00.007-05:00

ACES brings wrongfully convicted man to campus(click here for story)
The wrongfully convicted man is Dennis Fritz. Here is more about the college:
Buena Vista University - BVU Ranked Among America’s Best Colleges.
For photos of the event click here
Buena Vista University has been named a top school in the U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2009" publication. In the Midwestern Comprehensive Colleges - Bachelor's category, BVU is ranked 12th for academic quality. BVU received the same ranking in the 2008 edition.

"America's Best Colleges 2009" formulates this rating through an accumulation of data on a peer assessment test, freshman retention rate, graduation rate, class size and student/faculty ratio. It also takes into account the percentage of full time faculty, the ratio of students who were in the 25 to 75 percentile on their ACT and SAT scores, and the percentage of freshman in the top 25 percent of their graduating class.

READ MORE: Dennis Fritz On His Journey Toward Justice - Fritz Is One Of The Main Characters in John Grisham's Book "The Innocent Man" ONWARD TO STORM LAKE, IOWA click here

Dennis Fritz On His Journey Toward Justice - Fritz Is One Of The Main Characters in John Grisham's Book "The Innocent Man"

2008-11-22T20:06:00.004-05:00

ONWARD TO STORM LAKE, IOWA

On November 17, 2008, Dennis Fritz ( author of Journey Toward Justice ), drove to Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa—upon invitation from Lisa Wagner, (Technical Services and Event’s Director at Buena Vista), to share his powerful story at the long awaited, anticipated event.

Storm Lake, Iowa, is a small-nestled township within the northwest section of the State. The flavor and charm of the town is the Lake itself. In the summer months, Storm Lake is the main attraction to many local and out-of-area tourists. One can sense a somewhat mysterious aura that the lake projects—perhaps, as to some long-ago, un-talked about secrets that only the lake can tell.

On the northern edge of the city, the structures of Buena Vista University give birth within, to a highly regimented educative process. Although there are approximately 5000 students at Buena Vista, the students and staff are very closely united, thus allowing a greater one-on-one communication between themselves.
With a sparkle in his eye and a noticeable sense of confidence within himself, Mr. Fritz shared his shocking story with two, back-to-back criminology classes, under the direction of Dr. Stephanie Hays—who is the Assistant Professor of Criminology.

In 1999, Mr. Fritz was released from prison, after having spent 12 long, torturous years for a charged 1st Degree Capital Murder that he did not commit or know anything about, whatsoever! Most people would have been emotionally and permanently damaged if they had been exposed to what Dennis went through. Because of his great inner strength and faith in the Lord, Dennis has overcome the towering obstacles of great pain and suffering, and was still able to put his life back together and move forward in such a dramatic and positive way. Dennis is admired by everyone that he comes in contact with.

Dennis is one of the two main characters in John Grisham’s best selling book, The Innocent Man. Dennis’ book, Journey Toward Justice, is truly recognized as THE companion book to Grisham’s 1st non-fiction work of art. John and Dennis travel the country and do fundraisers together to help raise money for Innocence Projects across the U.S.
In addition, Dennis travels extensively on his own, in sharing his story with an array of various groups across the nation. Being a certified board member for the Midwestern Innocence Project in Kansas City, Missouri, allows Dennis many opportunities to bring about a greater awareness as to the devastating impact of false convictions.

Dennis Fritz took the stage to an audience of around 200+ people. His outright manner, and perfected speaking abilities, put everyone in awe—as to the living nightmare out of hell that he and his family had to suffer through. When Dennis speaks, he can make you cry—and then, in the end—make you laugh with nothing but sheer joy in your heart. Following his talk, Dennis, as usual, autographed his books while warmly greeting everyone. In his modest way, Dennis always says, “I am on a mission to simply bring about a much greater awareness as to how false convictions can destroy someone’s life—as well as, tearing at the very fabric of our moral and legal society.

For More photos click here

Dennis Fritz Speaks At The National Association of Legal Secretaries Regional Conference

2008-11-12T00:13:00.001-05:00

Dennis Fritz ( Author of Journey Toward Justice ), and Jay Swearingen ( Executive Director of the Midwestern Innocence Project ), were selected among other invited guests, to speak at the 6th annual NALS ( National Association of Legal Secretaries ) regional conference, in Kansas City, Missouri.

The conference started off with a bang, as Jay Swearingen gave his power point presentation to over 60 female professional secretaries. Jay is an excellent speaker, who captured everyones attention, concerning the overall duties and responsibilities of the Midwestern Innocence Project.

The special guest speaker, Dennis Fritz, took the microphone and told his harrowing story of having spent 12 long, nightmarish years in an Oklahoma penitentiary for being falsely convicted of 1st Degree Capital Murder. The viewing audience was overwhelmed by his detailed description of the sheer madness that he and his family suffered through. Mr. Fritz has now become the leading speaker in the nation on wrongful convictions. His easy-going and mild-manner personality, conveyed the horrendous amounts of injustice from being in a nightmare out of hell.

Following a thunderous round of applause, Mr. Fritz autographed copies of his book, Journey Toward Justice while visiting with each and every attendee in the group. Dennis Fritz and John Grisham travel around the country doing fundraisers for several Innocence Projects throughout the U.S. Dennis is one of the two main characters in Johns 1st non-fiction book, The Innocent Man. Dennis always says, "that it is such a great pleasure and honor to share his story, to bring about a much-needed greater awareness as to the impact of false convictions.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS

Dennis Fritz Guest Speaker At Thomson Reuters West Headquarters

2008-10-30T23:48:00.014-04:00

West and The Innocence Project
Published October 17, 2008 on West Website:
West supports The Innocence Project of Minnesota, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the national efforts of
The Innocence Project, well-known for its work to exonerate wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system.

As part of West’s connection to The Innocence Project, the Thomson Reuters Legal division hosted a presentation on Wed. Oct. 15 to employees at our Eagan, Minn. headquarters by Dennis Fritz, one of two men convicted in 1988 of murdering a woman in Oklahoma. Fritz and the other man, Ron Williamson, served 11 years in prison until DNA evidence proved their innocence.

You may know the case because it also is featured in “The Innocent Man,” a book by bestselling author John Grisham. Fritz also wrote a book about his ordeal, titled “Journey Toward Justice.”

Fritz presented his story to Thomson Reuters employees, answered questions and autographed copies of his book. Afterward, we asked him about his story in this video interview:

After his visit to Thomson Reuters, Fritz joined Grisham at a West-sponsored “Benefit for Innocence” event in Minneapolis, to raise money for The Innocence Project of Minnesota.
To view and download photos from the event, click here.
Source West
Headquartered in Eagan, Minn., West is the foremost provider of integrated information solutions to the U.S. legal market. West is a business within Thomson Reuters (www.thomsonreuters.com). For more information, please visit the West Web site at www.west.thomson.com.

Dennis Fritz, "The Innocent Man" and John Grisham's Real Life, "Appeal"

2008-10-29T13:33:00.016-04:00

This story is just unbelievable. A libel lawsuit against Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice and author, John Grisham headed to court of appeals. An Oklahoma federal judge's dismissal of a libel lawsuit against:

• John Grisham, author of “The Innocent Man.”
• Robert Mayer, author of “The Dreams of Ada.”
• Dennis Fritz, the author of “Journey Toward Justice.”
• Barry Scheck, one of Fritz’s lawyers who helped exonerate him, and a co-author of “Actual Innocence,” that discusses the case of Williamson and Fritz.
• The Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, publisher of “The Innocent Man” and “Actual Innocence.”
• Random House Inc., which owns Doubleday Dell.
•Broadway Books, publisher of “The Dreams of Ada.
• Seven Locks Press and/or James C. Riordan, publisher of “Journey Toward Justice”, is on its way to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Read More: click here >DA Bill Peterson Suing The Innocent Man Dennis Fritz For Emotional Distress Oct.2007

MORE Case Dismissed Sept.18,2008 click here

Johnnie Lee Savory - Falsely Accused, Unjustly Convicted: A Child's Story

2008-09-25T23:08:00.001-04:00

Let me tell you about Johnnie's story.

In 1977, when Johnnie Lee Savory was 14, he was falsely accused and unjustly convicted for killing his best friend and his best friend's sister in their hometown of Peoria, Illinois.
With the help of Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions, he was paroled and released in late 2006, after spending 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Since Johnnie's release from prison, he has organized a broad coalition of support from some of the most influential and respected lawyers and legal minds in the country. Including John Grisham, - see my post - Sunday, January 27, 2008
"John Grisham Seeks Governor's Aid In DNA-Test Request For Man Convicted Of Double-Murder", click HERE .

Though a free man today, society still considers Savory an ex-felon, which is why he is asking Governor Rod Blagojevich to order DNA testing of the evidence that was used to convict him.

With nothing to personally gain, Johnnie's supporters all agree that his case from start to finish was grossly mishandled, and that the evidence used to convict him demands DNA testing.

Johnnie has started a campaign called Justice for Savory to shine a light on this injustice.

The campaign includes a blog, which you can find here: http://justiceforsavory.windycitizen.com/
Here's the url to Johnnie's youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/justiceforsavory

On the youtube channel, they just posted a youtube video by Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions. In the video, Mr. Warden explains why Johnnie's case demands DNA testing and addresses why Lyons is afraid of the truth. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tlJZXPgOUo

CASE DISMISSED Grisham - Fritz - Mayer - Scheck Lawsuit

2008-09-22T20:19:00.010-04:00

--CASE DISMISSED--September 17, 2008
United States District Court Eastern District of Oklahoma -
In September, 2007, William N. Peterson, the District Attorney in Ada, Oklahoma, filed a complaint for civil conspiracy, libel, publicity placing a person in false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The complaint was a result of the depiction of Prosecutor Peterson in the following books:

The Innocent Man by John Grisham -- Doubleday Publishing
Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz -- Seven Locks Press
Dreams of Ada by Robert Mayer - Broadway Books

The defendants named were:
John Grisham - Doubleday Publishing
Dennis Fritz - Seven Locks Press
Robert Mayer - Broadway Books
Barry Scheck - Random House
James C. Riordan
On September 17, 2008, Ronald A. White, United States District Judge, Eastern District of Oklahoma GRANTED the defendants motion to dismiss.

Judge White in his opinion stated:
"The conduct complained of here is not extreme and outrageous for two reasons:

(1) the statements are not defamatory because they are constitutionally and statutorily protected and;
(2) the alleged conduct is not atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.

Therefore it is not plausible that these statements about public officials concerning matters of public concern even comes close to extreme and outrageous conduct."

This is Great News !!

UPDATE - Oct. 2008
This story is just unbelievable. A libel lawsuit against Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice and author, John Grisham headed to court of appeals.
Read More HERE

Federal Judge Dismisses Libel Lawsuit Against John Grisham

2008-09-18T10:32:00.002-04:00

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a libel lawsuit against best-selling author John Grisham over a nonfiction book he wrote about the 1982 killing of an Ada cocktail waitress, calling the petition's claims "not plausible.”

The lawsuit was filed last year by former Pontotoc County District Attorney William Peterson, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigator Gary Rogers and Melvin Hett, an OSBI criminologist.

The lawsuit named Grisham, his publishing company and the authors and publishing companies of two other books critical of Peterson and his prosecution of murder cases.

Also named as a defendant was Barry Scheck, founder of the New York-based Innocence Project and an attorney for one of the men falsely accused in the killing of Debbie Sue Carter.

U.S. District Judge Ronald White on Wednesday dismissed the lawsuit saying, "What two words best describe a claim for money damages by government officials against authors and publishers of books describing purported prosecutorial misconduct? Answer: Not plausible.”

Pair cleared by DNA
Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were prosecuted by Peterson and convicted of killing Carter. They were later cleared by DNA evidence and freed after 12 years in prison. Williamson, who was sentenced to death, was just five days away from his execution when he was granted a stay.
Grisham's book, "The Innocent Man,” and Fritz's "Journey Toward Justice” both documented the killing and subsequent trials. A third book, "The Dreams of Ada” by Robert Mayer, explored the investigation and prosecution of two other men for the 1984 killing of Denice Haraway in Ada.

Judge says analysis, criticism are needed
The plaintiffs alleged in their lawsuit that the defendants conspired to commit libel, generated publicity for themselves by placing the plaintiffs in a false light and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.
White rejected those claims in his ruling Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

"Where the justice system so manifestly failed and innocent people were imprisoned for 11 years (one almost put to death), it is necessary to analyze and criticize our judicial system (and the actors involved) so that past mistakes do not become future ones,” White wrote in his ruling. "The wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz must be discussed openly and with great vigor.”

The original lawsuit had alleged that attorneys for Fritz and Williamson participated in the wrongful treatment. At one point in the ruling, White quoted the movie "Casablanca,” and he included a footnote with a YouTube link in his ruling as a parody of how attorneys met with experts and discussed the facts of the case, using the opinions that are most favorable to their side.

Gary Richardson, the attorney for Peterson, Rogers and Hett, said he was still reading the judge's order to determine whether he would file an appeal.

"Of course, I'm quite disappointed and a bit surprised at the ruling,” Richardson said. "I felt that we had a solid case.”

Scheck, who worked to help free Fritz and Williamson, said he was pleased with the ruling.

"This is a victory for free speech and for holding officials publicly accountable for their role in wrongful convictions,” Scheck said in statement. "The court noted that we can learn from wrongful convictions to improve the system, and we can't do that unless these cases are fully examined, even when the facts are embarrassing for public officials who were involved in these miscarriages of justice.”
Source newsok.com

My first post on story - Tuesday, October 2, 2007

DA Bill Peterson Suing The Innocent Man Dennis Fritz For Emotional Distress
Dennis Fritz, who wrote the book, "Journey Toward Justice", is named as a defendant in a libel lawsuit along with , John Grisham, author of "The Innocent Man", Robert Mayer, author of "The Dreams of Ada", and all their publishers, and New York City attorney Barry Scheck, Fritz's former lawyer who once represented Fritz and is co-director of The Innocence Project.

With the aid of Barry Scheck and irrefutable DNA evidence, Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were exonerated in 1999. Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation filed the libel lawsuit. The lawsuit, seeks at least $75,000 compensation and demands a jury trial. Peterson and Rogers were instrumental in the conviction of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz in the murder of Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Oklahoma in 1982.

The conviction was later overturned on DNA evidence pursued by the Innocence Project, which Scheck heads, Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit and spent 12 years in prison. Part of the lawsuit claims the defendants conspired to commit libel against the plaintiffs, generate publicity for self interest by placing them in a false light and intentionally inflicting emotional distress upon them.

So... Prosecutor with the help of Gary Rogers sent 2 innocent men, Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson to prison for 12 years. Both Innocent men freed by DNA evaluation of crime scene evidence. Innocent man, Dennis Fritz writes book about his experiences. Prosecutor and Gary Rogers sue the innocent man they wrongfully sent to prison and Prosecutor and Rogers sue for intentionally inflicting emotional distress upon them. Only in America Folks...
Posted by Barbara's Journey Toward Justice

UPDATE OCT. 2008
Dennis Fritz, "The Innocent Man" and John Grisham's Real Life, "Appeal"
This story is just unbelievable. A libel lawsuit against Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice and author, John Grisham headed to court of appeals. Read More HERE

John Grisham's Brother Mark Grisham Writes Novel - Bedlam South

2008-08-31T21:11:00.032-04:00

John Grisham's brother publishes a book.
It took three years for David Donaldson and Mark Grisham — the younger brother of John Grisham — to finish their debut novel “Bedlam South,” which will hit bookstores worldwide on Oct. 7, 2008.

“Bedlam South,” a novel that begins and ends in an insane asylum during the Civil War, could be the saving grace for its novice authors as well as a Southaven charity.
Both Grisham and Donaldson have pledged that a significant portion of the proceeds from the sale of their book will go to help Impact Missions, the organization that Donaldson oversees.
Recently, donations to the nonprofit that helps needy and neglected children and families dropped drastically as the effects of a slumping economy trickled down to charitable organizations.

Donaldson, Impact Mission’s president, recently had to ask local governments for extra funding to pay the bills for this month.
“Whatever success we have with this book, we want to help this dedicated charity,” Grisham said. “So, we want to get the word out about our book, because it is a blessing for us and so many others.”
They didn’t ask Mark’s big brother, John, whose best-selling novels have brought him international fame, for help.

“We could’ve taken that short cut and asked him for advice, but we were raised to paddle your own canoe,” said Mark Grisham, 47, who lives in the Nesbit area and whose company sells heavy construction equipment parts. “After we finished the book, I told John and he almost fell off his chair. He then read it and he gave us some helpful tips.
“He also told me he was glad we got it published without help from him because he wants us to get all the credit.”
Source: commercialappeal.com

A little added information:
The book is being published by State Street Press, a publishing arm of Borders Books.
A Los Angeles company is working to turn "Bedlam South" into a screenplay.
The two longtime friends, who have known each other since junior high school, started their literary career in 2005.
Impact Missions Inc. Website - (click here ). .

Features a Donation Link

Impact Missions Address:
Impact Missions
8791 Northwest Drive
Southaven, MS 38671
(662) 343-0155

Sarah Palin On The Death Penalty

2008-08-29T10:33:00.009-04:00

If legislature passed death penalty law, I would sign it. (Nov 2006) - Full Quote:
If legislature passed death penalty law, I would sign it I support adequate funding for a strong public safety presence in Alaska. Feeling safe in our communities is something we cannot accept any compromise on. This includes policing in all its forms, the court system, prosecutors and corrections. If the legislature passed a death penalty law, I would sign it. We have a right to know that someone who rapes and murders a child or kills an innocent person in a drive by shooting will never be able to do that again. Source: Campaign website,www.palinforgovernor.com, Issues" Nov 7, 2006 ,
Sarah Palin is against abortion and gay marriage,as well as the right to bear arms.

Inmates Playing Card Games Can Solve Cold Cases

2008-08-28T01:10:00.000-04:00

The story - While inmates in jails across New York pass the time by playing card games -- gin rummy, poker and solitaire -- they may also be helping crack cold cases.

The idea is simple: Each of the 52 playing cards contains information about a murder, a missing person or another unsolved crime.
Inmates know information law enforcement agents don't, and as corrections officers can attest, inmates love to talk as long as it's not about their own crimes.
Most of the cases featured on the New York cards deal with missing persons, but some show unsolved murders, some dating to the 1980s.
Inmates can provide information by calling a hot line. They're not required to provide their names. Cindy Bloch, case manager at New York's Criminal Justice Services, said she's encouraged by the response.
"Prior to the playing card program being implemented, we had virtually no calls coming from correctional facilities," she said. "We now have 40 or 50 calls per month coming in."
Sheriff Jack Mahar, who runs the county jail in Rensselaer County, New York, said he replaced all the playing cards in the jail with the cold case cards.
"The people that are here live out on the streets, they grew up out on the streets, they know what's going on," Mahar said.
"Sooner or later, someone will hear, someone talks; it always happens whether it's two days from now or five years from now."
Even inmates think the cards are a good idea.

Doug and Mary Lyall began the card program in New York. Their daughter has been missing for a decade.
Continue Reading
Cards could help uncover cold case clues"

Improving the Practice and Use of Forensic Science

2008-08-24T18:16:00.009-04:00

Forensic science can be a powerful tool for seeking truth in criminal investigations and trials, but it is not flawless. A recent study found that faulty forensic evidence or testimony was a contributing factor in nearly sixty percent of wrongful convictions.

Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were two of those wrongfully convicted based on inaccurate and misleading forensic evidence. A visual hair comparison - a “science” that has an error rate as high as sixty-seven percent on individual samples - was a major factor in their convictions. They spent over a decade in jail, with Williamson on death row, until DNA testing proved their innocence in 1999. The DNA at the crime scene matched the man who originally led police to Williamson and Fritz.

The problems in Fritz and Williamson’s case are among those highlighted in a new publication from The Justice Project (TJP), which is designed to help states improve the quality of evidence in criminal trials and increase fairness and accuracy within the criminal justice system.

A new publication from The Justice Project (TJP), Improving the Practice and Use of Forensic Science: A Policy Review, provides an overview of the problems with certain forensic science policies and procedures, offers solutions to these problems, profiles cases of injustice, highlights states with good laws and procedures, and includes a model policy for the states.

The Justice Project recommends that:

· States create an independent, transparent oversight commission to develop and enforce quality standards for forensic science laboratories.
· States require all forensic science laboratories to develop internal structures and policies to prevent bias in testing and analysis.
· States require that all forensic laboratories are independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies.
· States require that all forensic laboratory analysts receive proper training and certification.
· States allocate sufficient funding to adequately implement these recommendations.

To ensure a more fair and accurate criminal justice system, it is critical to improve the reliability, objectivity, and independence of forensic analysis and testimony in criminal trials and investigations. This and other policy reviews are available on TJP’s website at www.thejusticeproject.org.

Books about Judicial Error, False Imprisonment, Forensic Sciences

2008-08-23T21:32:00.011-04:00

Book List: DNA data banks, judicial error, false imprisonment, forensic sciences. I will be adding more books to list in the future. To Submit A Book - Have a book to recommend and add to list, just click on the word "comments" on bottom of post and add a book to list. Must be on subjects.

Journey Toward Justice Author: Dennis Fritz, Seven Locks Press, 2006 - judicial error, false imprisonment, forensic sciences

DNA Databases edited by Lauri R. Harding - Greenhaven Press, Dna Crime Scene: Inside the World of the Real CSIs by Connie Fletcher - St. Martin's Paperbacks, 2007

The Forensic Laboratory Handbook: Procedures and Practice edited by Ashraf Mozayani and Carla Noziglia - Humana Press

Crime Scene: The Ultimate Guide to Forensic Science- Law - DK Publishing 2003 by Richard Platt (Author)

Partial List of Books about Forensics for Youths

Whodunit? : Science Solves the Crime Author: Otfinoski, Steven.; Scheld, Betsy,Publication: New York : W H Freeman, 1995 Reading Level: Ages 4-8
Police Lab: Using Science to Solve Crimes Author: Sheely, Robert, 1956-Publication: New York : Silver Moon Press, 1993 Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Cool Careers for Girls as Crime Solvers Author: Thornburg, Linda, 1949-Publication: Manassas Park, VA : Impact Publications, 2001
Forensics - Author: Ball, Jacqueline A. Publication: Milwaukee, WI : Gareth Stevens Pub., 2003 Reading Level: Ages 9-12

Dennis Fritz - Tabitha Pollock - A Rally For The Wrongfully Convicted

2008-08-18T17:12:00.032-04:00

FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
On June 21, 2008, an outside rally was held in Harrah, Oklahoma for Raye Dawn Smith. She is now serving a 27 year sentence for the charge of Enabling—in that, she ‘should have known’ that her former husband was abusing her child Kelsey, which thereafter resulted in her death.
At a country-side park ( just minutes away from the prison where Raye Dawn is currently incarcerated ) people were arriving in carloads, to give their unyielding support for Raye Dawn’s declared innocence.
The keynote speakers, Dennis Fritz, author of Journey Toward Justice ( the co-companion book to John Grisham’s, The Innocent Man ), and Tabitha Pollock—along with her husband, Abe—were seen in and around the pavilion, greeting and meeting Ray Dawn’s family members and guests. Tabitha, who had also been once convicted for the same charge of Enabling, was outwardly expressive in showing her empathy, as she mingled throughout the now-crowded assembly of people in sharing her support.

The smell of grilled hotdogs permeated throughout the gathering, thus signaling everyone’s attention that this special day, would help to bring forth Raye Dawn’s long sought-after freedom. The building intensity of emotions could easily be felt, like a fast moving thunderstorm sweeping through on a once calm, cloudless day. Every word and mannerism expressed by the guests and family members, were powerfully focused on one thing, and one thing only—to bust open those prison gates that wrongfully restrained Ray Dawn Smith.

As the large populated crowd sat down at the picnic tables to enjoy their lunch, the rally began. Several members of Ray Dawn’s family—including her mother, Gayla, went to the front and poured their hearts out. The inner strength of their words brought tears to everyone’s eyes. Their outright determination bore the resemblance of a lit cherry bomb that was about to ignite. A true spiritual blessing from the holy spirit was being felt by everyone in attendance. It was almost like you could feel the overhead pavilion shaking from it’s very foundation.

Next to speak was Tabitha Pollock. The emotion in her voice could not hide the tremendous amount of pain and suffering that she had been through. As she told her story of the traumatic years she spent behind bars— in having to deal with the agony of her daughter’s death—her broken words pierced everyone’s heart like a horror story straight out-of-hell. Although tears were streaming down from her eyes, an enormous inner strength brought forth a renewed Raye-of-Hope, that one day, Raye Dawn Smith’s innocence would be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Her slowly spoken words reverberated the pent-up scars that extended to the depths of her soul. Her courage shined through like a brilliant light as she shifted from side to side. It was the first time that Tabitha had told her complete story in front of a group of people.
When she had finished, it was noticeably visible that a great burden had been lifted from her shaking, small-framed body. Everyone clapped and cheered with joy and happiness as she passed the microphone. God bless you, Tabitha!

The next speaker, Dennis Fritz, described his horrible account of having been wrongfully convicted for 12 years of 1st Degree Capital Murder. Mr. Fritz eloquently compared his nightmarish circumstances to that of Raye Dawn Smith’s plight for justice. In his straight forward and easy going manner, Dennis spoke of hope and divine intervention for Raye Dawn and her family. His inspiring words also brought forth a tremendous comfort and renewed hope, that Raye Dawn would be exonerated in the near future.
With all eyes glued upon him, Mr. Fritz further conveyed the many instances how the Lord had been there to help him throughout his wrongful conviction. Following a brief silence of inward thought, Dennis raised his head and said, “Raye Dawn will receive her freedom through her strong faith and belief in the Lord. At first, my prayers were all about asking the Lord to get me out of this situation. After entering prison, my prayers changed by giving thanks to the Lord for being in the actual process of opening those prison doors.
It was my full faith in the Lord that brought about my miracle of freedom.” One could easily see that strong feelings of faith, love, and determination were running through everyone’s minds. Thereafter, Mr. Fritz went to a designated area outside the pavilion and signed many books for the people standing in line.
Now, the time was at hand for the spectacular event—the releasing of the balloons! Hundreds of multi-colored balloons were SET FREE into the sky, as a commemoration to Raye Dawn’s upcoming day of FREEDOM. The expressions of glamour and celebration were on everyone’s faces, as the drifting balloons found their way to a freedom that would never end.
The rally ended with group photograph pictures. All of the family members and guests wore their purple Fight For Freedom Tee-shirts, that were being sold for donations. Right before each picture was taken, Mr. Fritz would count to 3 and everyone would yell as loud as they could—“FREEDOM.” Needless to say, countless pictures were taken. What a day to remember. It is that very memory that is still-framed in everyone’s mind—on that very special day— that will help to bring about that glorious DAY OF FREEDOM that WILL come to Raye Dawn Smith. Hallelulla!!!!!!
FOR PHOTOS CLICK HERE

Dennis Fritz and DNA Testing

2008-08-14T14:30:00.007-04:00

Dennis Fritz spent years in prison fighting for the DNA test that proved his innocence. Seven times he petitioned the courts for DNA testing and seven times he was turned down. The state of Oklahoma fought Dennis ever step of the way and refused to compare his DNA with evidence collected from the crime scene. When his lawyers finally obtained permission to test the DNA, the results not only exonerated Dennis but identified and helped convict the real killer.

So far, more than 200 people have been exonerated by DNA evidence, yet according to a New Report on Post-Conviction DNA Testing , (Link here) many states – including Oklahoma -- still have barriers that prevent DNA testing from being used effectively. Improving Access to Post-Conviction DNA Testing: A Policy Review provides an overview of problems with current post-conviction DNA testing laws, offers solutions to these problems, profiles cases of injustice, highlights states with good laws and policies for DNA testing, and includes a model policy.
This is the link to The Justice Project here .

According to the policy review, Oklahoma is one of seven states without a statute for post-conviction DNA testing access. (The others are Alabama, Alaska, Massachusetts, Mississippi, South Carolina, and South Dakota.) Oklahoma passed a statute in 2000, but it expired in 2005. Other states with access statutes

TJP’s policy review includes six common sense recommendations for improving state post-conviction DNA testing to create a more accurate criminal justice system and restore public confidence in the system’s ability to correct its own errors.

Without DNA testing, Dennis Fritz would still be in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. But it’s clear from this report states still have a long way to go to make sure that every wrongfully convicted person has a fair chance to prove their innocence through DNA testing.
All of TJP’s policy reviews are available on its website at The Justice Project

Improving Access to Post-Conviction DNA Testing: A Policy Review

2008-08-13T19:42:00.010-04:00

The Justice Project (TJP) has constructed a national program of initiatives designed to increase fairness and accuracy in the criminal justice system. As part of their work, they have developed a series of policy reviews on the leading causes of wrongful convictions that explain the problems and recommend common sense solutions.

I’m pleased to provide you with an electronic copy of the latest TJP policy review, Improving Access to Post-Conviction DNA Testing: A Policy Review. (Click the title for PDF.) This policy review provides an overview of problems with current post-conviction DNA testing laws, offers solutions to these problems, profiles cases of injustice, highlights states with good laws and policies for DNA testing, and includes a model policy.

TJP’s six recommendations for states will improve the effective use of post-conviction DNA testing to create a more accurate criminal justice system and restore public confidence in the system’s ability to correct its own errors.
TJP recommends:

States should require the preservation of biological evidence throughout a defendant’s sentence and devise standards regarding custody of evidence.

States should ensure that all inmates with a DNA-based innocence claim may petition for DNA testing at any time and without regard to plea, confession, self-implication, the nature of the crime, or previous unfavorable test results.

States should require judges to grant post-conviction testing petitions when testing may produce new material evidence that raises a reasonable probability of the petitioner’s innocence or reduced culpability.

States should ensure that petitioners have access to objective and reliable forensic analysis at independent and privately funded labs, subject to judicial approval.

States should provide counsel and cover the cost of post-conviction DNA testing in cases where a petitioner is indigent.

States should standardize post-testing procedures for cases that produce testing results favorable to a petitioner.

All of TJP’s policy reviews are available in the National Work section of our their website The Justice Project, here

Wrongful Convictions Do Happen To The Innocent - Kelsey Smith - Briggs Case

2008-08-12T19:03:00.014-04:00

Raye Dawn Smith convicted to 27 years in jail because she should have known of the abuse of her 2 year old daughter Kelsey, not that she knew anything but convicted on the basis that she should have.

The Story
On October 11, 2005, Raye left the home for 30 to 40 minutes to pick up her step-daughter from school. Mike Porter was expecting a friend to pick up some tires and Kelsey was sleeping so Raye went to pick up the child and left Kelsey in bed with Mike Porter watching after her. When Raye Dawn returned home, an ambulance was there and Kelsey was unresponsive. Kelsey died later that day.
Raye has been convicted of enabling child abuse with a recommended sentence of 27 years. Raye shared a special bond with Kelsey. She would have never allowed anyone to harm her child.
Due to the mass media coverage on this case, Raye Dawn Smith was not granted a fair trial. Join us in starting an online petition to bring light to the injustice that has occurred as we lobby for fairness in this over-publicized case.

In a local television interview, the D.A., Smothermon, stated "the media has been detrimental to this case...I would rather take the evidence and present it to twelve jurors..."

Raye refused to take a blind plea for spanking Kelsey with a brush. She said, "I didn't do it! I won't take it!" Raye Dawn is innocent, it's time to set the record straight. She left her fate in the hands of a jury, a jury that got it wrong.
To Read More "The Truth About Kelsey"
Click HERE

DNA Evidence Not Saved in 25 States

2008-08-07T23:18:00.007-04:00

The ability to clear wrongly-convicted individuals is made more difficult because 25 states are not required to keep DNA evidence according to an August 5, 2008 story in USA Today.
The possibility of solving crimes committed years ago is hampered by lack of DNA samples as well. The biggest problems surrounding this issue are the guidelines and length of time for saving DNA material and the requirements and cost for storage.

What states are doing:
• South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed a proposal last month that, in part, would have mandated preservation of biological evidence. He says he supports giving the "wrongly accused a chance to clear their names" but could not endorse a provision requiring all suspects charged with felonies — but not yet convicted — to provide genetic profiles.

• A similar proposal in New York, one of the largest states that do not require DNA preservation, died in the State Assembly in June.

• Colorado prosecutors and defense lawyers are grappling to implement a broad law that requires law enforcement agencies to keep DNA evidence in murder, sexual assault and other serious cases for the lifetime of convicted defendants. It also calls for keeping DNA evidence in less serious crimes.

• Arizona lawmakers approved legislation, which takes effect Dec. 31, to maintain biological evidence in murder and sexual assault cases for as long as the offender remains in prison.

Larry Pozner, former head of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, says states have shown a "shocking" disinterest in keeping DNA: "Innocent inmates are going to die in prison."Evidence preservation has been the key to freeing more than 200 wrongfully convicted prisoners, says the Innocence Project, a group that works to free the innocent based on DNA testing.

Exonerated Jeff Deskovic Finds Reintegration Back Into Society Is Anything But Easy

2008-08-06T21:22:00.005-04:00

Starting at the age of 17 and ending at 34, I served 16 years in prison for a murder and rape which I was proven innocent of by DNA 23 months ago. I received an acknowledgment of my innocence and an apology from both the judge and the prosecutor. I was not given any compensation to assist me in starting my life over. I have sued, but it will take between 2-7 years before the litigation is over. Most people think that once someone has been freed from prison following exoneration that their problems are over. In reality, reintegration back into society after being exonerated is anything but easy. The difficulties that I encounter on a daily basis in many ways are typical of that which almost all exonerees experience.

Psychologically and emotionally, coping with what happened to me and the after effects has been hard, as has adjusting to being free after having decisions made for me for such a long time. In many ways, it is like being dropped off on a strange planet where one knows nobody, doesn’t understand the culture, customs, or technology.

Financially, it is a struggle. I earn money by giving lectures on wrongful convictions across the country at high schools, colleges, churches, and other community organizations, but I never know when or if the next one is coming. I also write an article a week for a local newspaper on criminal justice and wrongful conviction type subjects. When I have tried to find a job making consistent income to support myself in between engagements, I am only offered dead end jobs being paid next to nothing because I don’t have the same level of experience that others have.

It has been hard breaking in socially. Most people have a circle of friends and people that they socialize with. They form these associations from work, college, high school, and friends of friends. But I am never at the same location twice unless I get invited back, I email in my articles for the paper, at college the students were in the wrong age group, and I was incarcerated during what would have been my high school years. What does one do when one has no assets with which to start?

I am a solutions oriented, pro-active person who has a never give up mentality. But I am in an environment which I do not fully understand. To deal with readjustment and what happened to me, I see a therapist twice a week. I have worked hard trying to learn technology, for the most part on my own through asking questions here and there. I am not quite caught up to speed, but I have learned a lot. Financially, I have started my own non-profit organization whose purpose is to disseminate information about wrongful convictions, get reforms passed, help exonerate people, and help the exonerated reintegrate, and am currently looking for funding from both wealthy people and other philanthropic organizations. If I can find it, not only will those issues be worked on but I will help supervise things, and thus I will in effect have created my own job. I have also tried to get a loan, using my lawsuit as collateral. The goal would be to borrow enough to have a modest amount of money to live off of for the next 3-4 somewhat akin to what I would make as a salary while I await compensation. I am willing to pay back the principal and interest, as well as an additional amount of money for doing me the favor, but again I have not been able to find anybody. Litigation banks want such an absorbitant amount of money interest wise that I might as well be handing them the lawsuit.

In terms of trying to find people to do things with, I would like people between 25-37 to hang out with, who are educated, progressive, and social justice type people, who like doing energy based type things for fun, such as sports, anything involving a ball, swimming, biking, karaoke, trying new things, going to new places, parks, amusement parks, historical places, and just having a good conversation, who live within 25 minutes of Tarrytown, NY. I have went to a variety of places, tried many ideas that others have suggested, placed ads on meetup.com, myspace, and Craigslist. I even tried starting my own Meetup group; alas no one showed up. I do not know what else to try. If anybody would like to send me a message of support, comments, much needed ideas, make a contribution to help the foundation get started, or even to hang out if you are within 20 minutes of Tarrytown, NY, please email me through my website www.JeffreyDeskovicSpeaks. All emails will be answered.

Dennis Fritz Speaks to TCC Biotechnology and Area Students

2008-07-29T12:23:00.027-04:00

Dennis Fritz speaks to TCC, high school students -
Area high school students and TCC Biotechnology students didn’t blink while a man who spent 11 years in prison described what it was like to be behind bars, and innocent. Their eyes were cemented to the speaker, not even looking away when someone opened a door allowing sunlight to spill into the black theatre.
As Dennis Fritz spoke, empathy enveloped him. Teenagers, sometimes revered as the toughest audience to engage, didn’t breathe as he told a
story that seemed to come straight from Hollywood.

A single father of a 3-year-old girl, wrongfully arrested,sentenced to life in prison, and now using his experience to save others.

Fritz visited TCC in March to speak at the Biotechnology Learning Extravaganza held in the VanTrease Performing Arts Center for Education (PACE). The second annual event, made possible by a SEEDBEd grant from the National Science Foundation, gave students a first-hand look at why biotechnology is important.
Dr. Diana Spencer, coordinator of the biotechnology program, invited both Fritz and Forensic Supervisor Cassie Johnson to speak at this year’s event.“We wanted to expose students to the real-life events connected to biotechnology,” she said. Fritz was convicted of first-degree murder in 1988, along with co defendant Ron Williamson (Williamson died in 2004). Fritz received a life sentence while Williamson received the death penalty. At one point, Williamson was literally days away from being put to death. The two spent 11 years in prison until they were exonerated on April 15, 1999 at the Pontotoc County Courthouse. Fritz and Williamson were convicted based on unreliable evidence and false confessions. They got their freedom back thanks to The Innocence Project: a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and created by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld in 1992.
According to www.innocenceproject.org, the project is “a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.”

“Today, we can amplify DNA through a process called PCR,” Spencer said. “DNA forensic scientists have the ability to revisit old cases that
were prosecuted before DNA biotechnology, and use the miniscule amounts of DNA to free the incorrectly incarcerated.”

Since its inception, The Innocence Project has exonerated more than 200
people. Before Fritz spoke, Johnson, who does pro bono work for The Innocence Project, told students about her life as a Forensics Supervisor and Technical Leader of Y-STR and mtDNA Analysis at Orchid Cellmark in Dallas. She gave an overview of tests they perform in the lab as well as a snapshot of what her typical day includes. She said forensic science is a lot different than what is portrayed on popular crime investigation television programs. While entire crimes are solved in 20 to 40 minutes on television, actual DNA testing can take from a few days to a few weeks.
To finish the day, the 100 high school participants performed DNA
testing on strawberries at the Health Sciences and Biotechnology Learning Center, also on the Southeast Campus. Johnson and Fritz accompanied the students, watching as possible future biotechnologists got their first taste of DNA analysis.

The annual Biotechnology Extravaganza is made possible by the SEEDBEd grant awarded to TCC by the National Science Foundation in 2006. The grant focuses on introducing biotechnology to middle and high school students. The grant provides funding for TCC faculty to visit
secondary schools and engage students in conducting DNA la procedures. Funds also provide materials for secondary teachers to use in classrooms
so they can incorporate biotechnology experiences into their everyday
curriculum. Spencer said the grant, along with TCC’s Health Sciences and Biotechnology Learning Center, enables TCC to train the students needed for this exploding field.
“In Oklahoma, the occupation of biological technician is one of the 30 fastest-growing jobs in the state,” she said. “Biotech has been described by the U.S. Department of Commerce as essential to the national long-term economic growth and leadership.” She said she appreciates Fritz and Johnson speaking at the Biotechnology Extravaganza, hoping their personal and professional experiences will touch students in a way that textbooks cannot. “It takes what they’ve learned in the classroom to a new level,” Spencer said. “These events describe how effective science can change lives."

Story from TCC Magazine - To see the entire magazine, visit http://www.tulsacc.edu/ and type Spotlight in the search box. In the search results, click Spotlight Magazine. Then, click on the Spring08 edition.

More About Orchid Cellmark -
Orchid Cellmark Inc. is engaged in the provision of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing services that generate genetic profile information by analyzing an organism’s genetic identity. The Company’s business focuses on DNA testing for human identity, particularly for forensic and family relationship, as well as security applications. The Company provides DNA testing for agricultural applications, including for food safety, selective trait breeding and traceability purposes, all of which are conducted in the United Kingdom. The Company caters to various government agencies, private individuals and commercial companies. Majority of its customers are based in the United States and in the United Kingdom. On October 31, 2007, the Company acquired ReliaGene Technologies, Inc. (ReliaGene), a provider of forensic and paternity DNA testing services based in New Orleans, Louisiana. More from Reuters »

Journey To Justice

2008-07-19T07:53:00.031-04:00

Scott Peterson, who has been made famous for the crime against his wife - after he was found guilty of killing her, has a personal website. Canadians Against the Death Penalty has provided a personal website for Scott Peterson, in hopes that it will eventually change the law against the death penalty (according to Scott Peterson's blog and the CCADP.Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CCADP) ).
Scott included photos of himself and Laci within his blog. CCADP blog offers free web-space to death row inmates.
On his blog Scott Peterson discusses what he considers to be "his wrongful conviction."
Scott Peterson was convicted Nov. 12, 2004, for the 2003 deaths of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, Connor. Laci Peterson was eight-months pregnant when she died.
Laci was reported missing after her disappearance on Christmas Eve in 2002. Laci's body was found April of 2003 in California's Berkeley Marina. Her unborn baby boy was found washed up miles away.
Scott's personal website is from Death Row - San Quentin, California.

The website includes links to his family's blog entitled Journey To Justice" and a website called ScottPetersonAppeal.org.
Scott has an entry on his personal page, saying he’s encouraged by the mail he receives. He states he enjoys hearing from people.
His prison mail address is also posted so people can write to him.
Contributors to "Journey to Justice" includes, none-other-then, Scott Peterson, sister Susan Cuadillo and parents Jackie and Lee Peterson. On June 6th, 2008, Scott Peterson's was the first to post on "Journey to Justice." It is titled "Let's Try a Blog".

Blog Excerpt -
"Knowing that there are rational, thoughtful people, willing to look at the evidence, and some so kind as to drop notes of good will or send a small donation has a huge positive impact. We want to have better communication with such great people and it has been suggested that we do a blog." - Scott Peterson, entry from Journey to Justice.

Laci's mother is outraged that her daughter's killer has access to the Internet from inside San Quentin State Prison.
In an interview with CNN’s Larry King, Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha, said that, "although Scott’s family is entitled to the family blog,
I still feel that it’s not right that Scott has the ability to speak on the Internet through his family or friends or whomever."

What a joke this is ! What about Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot's Case. THEY'RE INNOCENT, and have been in prison for well over a decade-for a murder they did not commit.

View CNN VIDEO HERE Heading - Laci Peterson's mom outraged 5:07
Larry King talks to Laci Peterson's mom who is outraged Scott Peterson is using the internet to proclaim his innocence.

What do you make of the controversy about Scott “blogging” from San Quentin?
You can post comments here on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice HERE. Would like to hear what you think.

Information and Assitance on Wrongful Convictions and False Allegations

2008-07-15T09:58:00.009-04:00

Most of the letters I receive on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice is for information and assitance on wrongful convictions and false allegations and contact information for Dennis Fritz, author of "Journey Toward Justice", the companion book to John Grisham's book, "The Innocent Man".
Here is a great forum called, "Raye of Hope" Link HERE- Information and assitance on wrongful convictions and false allegations.
This forum is an informational site on wrongful convictions and false allegations, that also provides information on wrongful convictions.
It is their goal not only to educate the public about the reality of wrongful convictions, but to help who have been wrongfully convicted or falsely accused.

For contact information for Dennis Fritz you can email me or write, to doc.fritz(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Barack Obama Alienates Europeans By Favoring Death Penalty And Right To Bear Arms

2008-07-12T11:09:00.006-04:00

In the German news magazine, Deutsche Welle, Michael Knigge blogs about Barack Obama’s stance on the death penalty and the right to bear arms.
About author, Michael Knigge.
Michael has headed up the German editorial team of DW-WORLD.DE since 2004. Previously, he worked as a reporter for the English service of Deutsche Welle Radio, as well as for various news agencies. Michael is an alumni of young professional programs with the Aspen Institute Berlin and the American Council on Germany and he was a Media Fellow at Duke University in 2006.

He studied in Germany and the U.S. and holds a Master's degree in American Studies. Michael is based in Bonn, Germany.
Michael Kniggs has a blog called,"Across the Pond".
Across the Pond is a joint German-American blog about the U.S. election campaign 2008 with a focus on international aspects of the presidential race.

Excerpt from an article titled "Barack Obama Alienates Europeans By Favoring Death Penalty And Right To Bear Arms"

"What is politically interesting is that Obama has arguably switched to the right on two key issues for conservatives in the last week: gun control and the death penalty. Which brings up the old issue of flip-flopping again. Does this make him a flip-flopper or a savvy politician? That probably depends on whether Obama can argue his switch convincingly. What do you think?"

To read full article click Here

When Will The Justice Department Take Action ?

2008-07-10T23:05:00.011-04:00

Open letter from the Rivera Family
full page ad in USA Today with a letter from the Rivera family.
The ad is in Thursday, July 10th's edition of USA Today.
An Open Letter, from the Rivera Family.
Jose's death did not have to happen. Jose served in the United States Navy and survived two tours in Iraq. But it wasn't the war that killed him - he survived the war. We lost our son and brother on June 20, 2008 at the hands of inmate improvised weapons at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater, CA, where Jose was a Correctional Officer. And as a Federal Correctional Officer, dealing with the most violent criminals in the United States, he was not armed, nor was he provided an armored vest.

Under federal Bureau of Prisons policy, Jose could only be armed with a radio. He was taken from us because of the situation in Federal Prisons today. The Justice Department is cutting back on staff and cutting funding for programs that could prevent the kind of violence that took Jose's life. Overcrowding, underfunding and depriving our Officers of the tools they need to defend themselves will only lead to more violence and more lives lost. Just this week at the United States Penitentiary in Hazelton, WV there was another lockdown due to an assault, tragically proving that what happened at Atwater was not an isolated event-it's happening across the country.

If federal prison funding continues to decline, incidents such as these will skyrocket.
When will the Justice Department take action?
Do more Correctional Officers have to die?
Jose is gone. His death is senseless. We can't bring him Back.
Please let Congress know that this tragedy could have been prevented.
Call your Representatives and Senators at 202-225-3121 and tell them that the underfunding and overcrowding of federal Prisons is unsafe, reprehensible and will be the cause of more tragic deaths.
Sincerely,
The Rivera Family

A website I highly recommend:
prisonofficer.org
This site is primarily for Correctional Officer and Staff. All forms and members of the Law Enforcement Community are welcome. Some Public Discussions
Topics include:
Public Discussions - Information and Knowledge Base Information -Archive for Correctional and Law Enforcement - Unions and Associations - Regional Discussion - United States Local Discussion for all 50 States: State, County, and City welcome - U.S. Federal and Military forums -PO.Org Staff, Support, and Suggestions Correctional Officers and Law Enforcement ONLY - What's Going On? and Donations.

To all my friends at prisonofficer.org - I am not "60 Minutes", but I hope this helps getting your voices heard.

Kudos To Walter D. Smith Wrongfully Incarcerted 11 Years Now Motivational Speaker and Professional Body Builder

2008-07-09T08:29:00.007-04:00

Walter D. Smith turned adversity into prosperity. "Against All Odds," diligent determination and DNA testing freed this champion. Allow Walter Smith to share his winning ways with you and your audience. Visit his website "Against All Odds,"
More on Walter Smith from The Innocence Project:
Walter D. Smith
Incident Year: 1985
Jurisdiction: OH
Charge: Rape, Kidnapping, Robbery
Conviction: Rape, Kidnapping, Robbery
Sentence: 78-190 Years
Year of Conviction: 1986
Exoneration Date: 11/8/96
Sentence Served: 10 Years
Real perpetrator found? Not Yet
Contributing Causes: Eyewitness misidentification
Compensation? Yes
In July of 1985, while awaiting trial on unrelated charges, Walter D. Smith was identified by three women who had been sexually assaulted several years earlier. Smith plead guilty to the other charges but adamantly denied the accusations of rape.
In 1986, based on the testimony of several eyewitnesses, the jury convicted Smith of rape of two of the three victims and handed down a sentence of 78 - 190 years.Smith continually maintained his innocence and became a model prisoner, completing a drug rehabilitation program and acquiring an associates degree in business from Wilmington College. According to his testimony, Smith started requesting DNA testing in 1987.
When DNA testing was completed in 1996, the results revealed that Smith could not be the perpetrator of these rapes. Independent testing by the Franklin County prosecutor's office confirmed these results and on December 6, 1996, Smith was paroled.
Following his exoneration, Smith successfully sought compensation for the additional five years that he was imprisoned due to the rape convictions. Walter D. Smith is a motivational speaker and professional body builder. Please visit WalterDSmith.com for more information.

Video - Author John Grisham discusses his book "The Innocent Man"

2008-07-06T18:38:00.013-04:00

Video - Author John Grisham discusses his book "The Innocent Man" at the Innocence Project's Annual Benefit. The video opens with Exoneree Dennis Fritz dancing with the mother of the murder victim in the case for which he was wrongfully convicted. The evening was billed as a “Celebration of Freedom and Justice "
Music by Jonathan Batiste . YOUTUBE VIDEO Click Here.
I will adding Special Photos of the event on my blog,
" Barbara's Journey Toward Justice ". Here
Please visit again for updates.

Jeff Deskovic - An Emotional Night At The Innocence Project's Gala

2008-07-03T20:00:00.014-04:00

My friend Jeff Deskovic wrote a great article about his attendance at The Innocence Project's Second Annual Gala Dinner. The evening was billed as a “Celebration of Justice and Freedom.”. With his permission I would like to share it with my readers.
I will be adding many great photos of the event on my blog soon.
An Emotional Night At The Innocence Project’s Second
by Jeff Deskovic
On May 7, 2008, The Innocence Project held its second annual fundraising Gala Dinner. The Innocence Project is a not-for-profit organization that works to exonerate wrongfully convicted prisoners in those Annual Gala Dinner
cases in which DNA testing can prove innocence. They also work towards bringing about legislative changes to prevent wrongful convictions in the first place. There have been 215 people across the country who have been exonerated through DNA evidence. Over 150 of those cases were personally worked on by The Innocence Project.

Such work, of course, requires money. The attorneys and other staff members must be paid a salary in order to focus full-time on the cases, as do the people who work on policy. Beyond that, there is other overhead, and other costs of litigation. Additionally, as a tactic that has sometimes worked in overcoming prosecutorial objections to the testing based on cost, The Innocence Project also offers to pay for the testing.

The focus of the evening was to show previous donors the result of their work, with the purpose of encouraging them to continue making contributions, while at the same time raising money to cover the event. Celebrated author John Grisham, who is also an attorney, was the guest of honor. The evening was billed as a “Celebration of Justice and Freedom.”

Grisham had written a book entitled “The Innocent Man”, which was the story of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, who had been wrongfully convicted of murder in Oklahoma. The book has been responsible for raising the awareness of countless people across the country about wrongful convictions. In addition, Grisham serves on the board of directors of The Innocence Project, and has helped raised funds for the Mississippi Innocence Project. He has also lectured about wrongful convictions around the country.
Grisham was invited to speak. He spoke of how he came to write the book, and mentioned that he had read the following obituary in The New York Times, written by Jim Dwyer:
Ronald Williamson, Freed From Death Row, Dies at 51
Published: December 9, 2004

Ronald Keith Williamson, who left his small town in Oklahoma as a high school baseball star with hopes of a Major League career but was later sent to death row and came within five days of execution for a murder he did not commit, died on Saturday at a nursing home near Tulsa.He was 51. The cause was cirrhosis of the liver, which he learned he had six weeks ago, his sister Annette Hudson said. Mr. Williamson’s early life appeared charmed. As a pitcher and catcher in Ada, he twice led his high school teams to the championship of a state where another native son, Mickey Mantle, enjoyed the status of near deity.

The Oakland Athletics picked Mr. Williamson in the second round of the 1971 amateur draft. After six years in the minor leagues, Mr. Williamson saw his career end because of arm injuries. He returned to Oklahoma and worked at a sales job, but began to show signs of a mental illness that was eventually diagnosed as bipolar disorder. His marriage, to a former Miss Ada, broke up. He returned to his mother’s home and slept 20 hours a day on the couch, Ms. Hudson said, afraid of his old bedroom. In late 1982, a waitress, Debbie Sue Carter, 21, was found raped and killed in her apartment in Ada. The case remained open until 1987, when a woman who had been arrested for passing bad checks told the police that she had heard another prisoner discussing the killing. The man, she said, was Mr. Williamson, who had been in the jail for kiting checks.

Mr. Williamson was charged with the killing. So was a second man, Dennis Fritz, a high school science teacher who had been one of Mr. Williamson’s few friends when he returned to town a er his baseball career. The evidence, the authorities said, consisted of 17 hairs that matched those of Mr. Williamson and Mr. Fritz, and the account provided by the woman who said she had heard Mr. Williamson confess.

A second jailhouse informer later stepped forward to buttress the case against Mr. Fritz. Mr. Williamson and Mr. Fritz were tried separately and found guilty. Mr. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison, and Mr. Williamson - who had not received his psychiatric medicines for months before the trial and shouted angrily at the prosecution witnesses - was sentenced to die. Mr. Williamson later said the prison guards taunted him over an intercom about Ms. Carter’s murder. In September 1994, when all of his state appeals had been exhausted, he was taken to the warden’s office and told that he would be executed on Sept. 24. He recalled filling out a form that directed his body to be returned to his sister for burial. A team of appellate lawyers, however, sought a writ of habeas corpus from Judge Frank H. Seay of Federal District Court, arguing that Mr. Williamson had not been competent to stand trial and that his lawyer had not effectively challenged the hair evidence or sought other suspects.

Judge Seay granted a stay five days before Mr. Williamson was scheduled to die. In 1998, lawyers from the Innocence Project at the Benjamin C. Cardozo School of Law in New York arranged DNA tests for Mr. Williamson and Mr. Fritz. They showed that neither man had been the source of the semen or hair collected from the victim’s body. Another man, Glen D. Gore, has since been convicted of the killing and sentenced to die for it. Mr. Williamson and Mr. Fritz were freed in April 1999. On a visit that spring to New York, they took a tour of Yankee Stadium, and Mr. Williamson wandered along the sparkling outfield grass. “I just got a taste of how much fun they were having up here,” he said. Besides Ms. Hudson, another sister, Renee Simmons of Allen, Tex., survives.

The two men later won settlements for their convictions. But Mr. Williamson continued to be troubled by his psychiatric problems, Ms. Hudson said. Last year, however, he participated in a one-mile march, making an appeal to the governor of Illinois to commute the sentences of death row prisoners in that state. That obituary led Grisham to learn more and more about Williamson and Fritz’s case, and eventually he decided to write the book.

Grisham recounted how Williamson had suffered on death row: struggling with mental illness and being given improper medication, pulling his own hair out as well as his teeth. He mentioned how the guards had tortured him as well, speaking to him through an intercom, pretending to be the victim and how he would pay for the crime. Further, the author stated that Williamson, who died from cirrhosis of the liver, which went untreated in prison.

He then spoke a little bit about the death penalty, and how it poses the danger of executing innocent people, and why that was a reason to do away with it. He said that one day DNA testing would prove that an innocent person had been executed; though he was unsure of the ultimate impact of that on the whole death penalty debate, however he seemed to be saying that that element was probably the best shot attending the death penalty, and that he would want to write a book on that case if and when it occurred.

Of course, the late Ron Williamson, and his surviving co-defendant Dennis Fritz, who was, in fact, in attendance at the Gala, were not the only people horrifically impacted by their wrongful convictions. I cannot imagine what Renee Simmons and Annette Hudson, Ron Williamson’s sisters, went through. Grisham mentioned that when Williamson was within days of being executed, the family was called by the prison and asked what they wanted to do with the body. Both Simmons and Hudson were in attendance.

Christy Sheppard, the sister of Debra Sue Carter, the murder victim that Williamson and Fritz were wrongfully convicted for killing, also had her life changed forever. She was only eight years old when the crime happened, and she grew up believing that Williamson and Fritz were guilty. Grisham mentioned that it had shattered their family. Carter’s family believed they could finally move forward knowing that the perpetrators were brought to justice.

Trying to triumph over the tragedy, Sheppard became part of a growing and critical component of the innocence movement: crime victims and their families who want to address and prevent wrongful convictions. Working with the Innocence Project and local advocates for the past two years, Sheppard has campaigned for an Oklahoma innocence commission, an independent entity with members from all areas of the criminal justice system that investigates previous wrongful convictions and suggests reforms to prevent them. Sheppard has talked with legislators and the public about wrongful convictions and the need for a state commission. “When I learned about this innocence commission, all the stars aligned, and I knew that’s what needed to be done,” Sheppard said. When Curtis McCarty of Oklahoma was exonerated in May, Sheppard’s family joined McCarty’s parents and others at a press conference to renew the call for an innocence commission.

The gala dinner was a very emotional experience for me. As I watched each exoneree mention their name along with the amount of time that they served, I understood, as no one, other than an exoneree, could, the suffering that wrongful incarceration wreaks on a person. I realized that in some ways each person’s traumatic time in prison was different, and that the particular horrors may differ, along with the types of mistreatment. Yet there are a lot of similarities that are true across the spectrum, and certainly the experience of being wrongfully imprisoned puts people in a much better vantage point from which to understand the havoc that it wreaks.

With each mention of a name, along with the amount of time served, thoughts raced through my mind of just what that incarceration and all of its effects entailed. Then, I tried to imagine going through it with that length of time. I kept in mind as well that many had experiences worse than mine. Some had been on death row, while others were housed in prisons in other states that were much worse than the horrible ones in New York.

I heard the names of Alan Newton, who served 21 years in New York for rape; Barry Gibbs, who served 19 years for murder in New York; Scott Fappiano, who served 21 years in New York for rape, sodomy, burglary, and sexual abuse; Roy Brown, who served 15 years for murder in New York; David Shephard, who served 9 ½ years in New Jersey for rape, robbery, weapons violations, and terrorist threats; Chris Conover, who served 18 years in North Carolina; Kennedy Brewer, who had been sentenced to death and served 15 years in Mississippi; Dennis Fritz, who served 12 years for murder in Oklahoma; Jerry Miller, who served 24 ½ years in Illinois for kidnapping, rape, and robbery; James Tillman, who served 16 ½ years for sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, assault, and larceny in Connecticut; Calvin Johnson, who served 15 ½ years for rape, aggravated sodomy, and burglary in Georgia.

The sight of Fritz on stage, with Williamson’s sisters, along with Sheppard, all in solidarity, was so powerful that I teared up a bit. When it was my turn to speak, I quickly mentioned that from 17-years of age, I served 16 years in New York for a murder and rape which DNA cleared me of. I also mentioned obtaining my B.A. in Behavioral Science, and of my dream of becoming an attorney and working to exonerate others who have been wrongfully convicted. The exonerees had all been allotted 30 seconds in which to speak, yet I felt that this was an opportunity to try to bring awareness to a problem that is very often overlooked amidst all of the justifiable attention paid to wrongful convictions and exonerations: the financial difficulties in being able to reintegrate.

Much as I had done in prior interviews with the media, I decided to sacrifice personal privacy by using myself as an example of a problem, in order to call attention to it, with the hope that there would be changes, or at the very least that I would get the conversation started. I mentioned that The Innocence Project has a program by which they collect donations, and spend them on the exonerees on an emergency basis. These funds had been paying the costs of my phone, mental health services, my car insurance, as well as my internet connection, but that these funds would be cut off in a few months, due to my reaching the cap of what they will allocate to each wrongfully convicted person.

Despite making money by speaking and writing articles, I would be unable to absorb these additional costs, yet I would need these services just as much as before. Elaborating further, I mentioned that when I had tried to get consistent work in addition to these, not having the work experience, I have been unable to compete with others my age group, due to what happened to me, and thus financial offers have been dead end jobs paying next to nothing. I also referenced other exonerees who would be facing similar issues. Many came up to me afterwards and said that they had been moved. Whether or not that translates into donors making more contributions to the emergency fund or not, remains to be seen. But despite feeling inadequate and somewhat embarrassed at not being able to thus far be on an even par with others my age who had never been wrongfully convicted, I felt that I had to at least try.
Article Reprinted With The Permission Of The Westchester Guardian
Click HERE - For the video that opens with Exoneree Dennis Fritz dancing with the mother of the murder victim in the case for which he was wrongfully convicted.
The Video - Author John Grisham discusses his book "The Innocent Man" at the Innocence Project's Annual Benefit.
Please also visit Jeff Deskovic wonderful website at www.jeffreydeskovicspeaks.org

Midwest Innocence Project Has A New Website

2008-06-12T22:49:00.009-04:00

The Midwestern Innocence Project is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to the innocent in prison.
The Staff
Pat Doak, Legal Secretary
Tiffany Murphy, Legal Director
Jay Swearingen, Executive Director

Below is information from their New Website
Their Vision
We have about 100,000 inmates in our six-state region of Arkansas, Oklahoma,Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. A recent university study estimates a 5%failure rate of our criminal justice system, but even if that rate is only 1%, that indicates there are 1,000 people; 1,000 moms and dads and sons and daughters in our region sitting in a jail cell away from their families and completely innocent of the crime for which they are incarcerated. We want them out and we want them out soon.

It is our vision to be a working non-profit law firm with five full time attorneys and a support staff of an additional five. It is our vision to consistently be in litigation on behalf of our innocent inmates. It is our vision to enjoy several exonerations each year for the next decade. It is our vision that every state in our region embraces the reforms necessary to end these travesties.
It is our vision that no one in our region EVER goes to prison again for a crime they did not commit.

More Information from The Midwestern Innocence Project New Website:
We have a New Website
It's been a long time coming, but our new website is officially up and running. We'd like you to be one of the first to give it a test run. Please take a moment to visit The link on the right - and tell us what you think.
Keeping our organization tech savvy is difficult and expensive. We're also asking that you help us fund these enhancements by contributing a small gift to the Midwestern Innocence Project.
Your contribution today of $25, $50, $100, $250 or whatever you can afford will be used to fund these upgrades and will be greatly appreciated (See below)* Consider a monthly pledge; they help us plan our resources more efficiently. We can't be successful without the financial help of people just like you.

"Thank You" Gifts: Special gifts for our supporters (you will make your selection on the donation page)

Ticket to the 2008 Chad Lowe Innocence Gala On September 25, actor and director Chad Lowe will headline our 2008 Innocence Gala at the InterContinental Hotel on the Plaza. Chad portrayed exoneree Kerry Max Cook in the Broadway play "The Exonerated". Kerry will also be joining us at the gala.(donate at least $125.00 to be eligible for this gift)

Table at the 2008 Chad Lowe Innocence Gala On September 25, actor and director Chad Lowe will headline our 2008 Innocence Gala at the InterContinental Hotel on the Plaza. Chad portrayed exoneree Kerry Max Cook in the Broadway play "The Exonerated". Kerry will also be joining us at the gala.(donate at least $1250.00 to be eligible for this gift)

Personalized copy of "The Innocent Man"This hardcover John Grisham book will be personally autographed for you by one of the books main characters and exoneree Dennis Fritz. (donate at least $250.00 to be eligible for this gift)

Autographed Edition of "Journey Toward Justice"An autographed copy of exoneree Dennis Fritz's book "Journey Toward Justice".(donate at least $100.00 to be eligible for this gift)

The Innocents Coffee Table Book An autographed edition of The Innocents, a book of portraits of former inmates accompanying a traveling exhibit by the same name. (donate at least $100.00 to be eligible for this gift)

2XONR8 Missouri T-Shirt Wear our colors proudly and let others know that you are committed "to exonerate"the innocent. Green ink on a tan shirt. (donate at least $35.00 to be eligible for this gift)

Please go to their website if you would like to make a donation
HERE

SISTER HELEN PREJEAN AND DENNIS FRITZ MEET IN CHICAGO

2008-05-31T17:58:00.020-04:00

On Thursday, May 22, noted authors’ Dennis Fritz and Sister Helen Prejean, teamed up together in Chicago, Illinois, to speak at the Saint Vincent Catholic Church at DePaul University—against the arbitrary use of the death penalty.

This long-awaited event represented a powerful combination of these two people (along with other key, death penalty abolitionists), whose sole objective(s) are to bring about the much-needed, greater awareness against the use of the death penalty.

Sister Helen Prejean is the author of Dead Man Walking, which was turned into a major motion picture in the middle 90’s. Her later released book, The Death of Innocents, is a powerful and poignant masterpiece, that exposes the in-depth atrocities of the death penalty.

Sister Helen is a true-to-heart abolitionist, and is speaking all over the county about her unyielding convictions against the unfair use of the death penalty. Sister Helen so eloquently combines her powerful presence with a witty sense of humor and directness that radiates her southern charm and intelligence. Her determination, dedication, and fortitude are deeply embedded in her plight to abolish the death penalty.

Dennis Fritz, who is the author of Journey Toward Justice—the co-companion book to John Grisham’s The Innocent Man— has been touring the country and speaking out about wrongful convictions, and the unfair administration of the death penalty. A major motion picture under the direction of George Clooney, is now underway about Dennis and Ronnie Williamson’ case. Both men were falsely convicted of 1st Degree Capital Murder, and spent 12 years behind bars before DNA testing finally freed them.

To meet Dennis, you would never think that he had suffered through a 12 year, never-ending nightmare, as such. His strength, fortitude, and courage are Dennis’ blessings to everyone around him. Today, his zest for life and liberty is greater than it has ever been. Dennis lives each and everyday of his life to the fullest, with a positive attitude and caring for other people—that is very rare in today’s society. Now, he finally gets to meet Sister Helen Prejean!

After Sister Helen and Dennis were picked up at the O’Hare International Airport by Elliot Slosar and Jennifer Bishop ( bulldog abolitionist’s for the State of Illinois ), they immediately had lunch at Giordano’s Pizza.

The excitement could be felt throughout the restaurant, as each of the dynamos for justice conversed and celebrated their long-awaited meeting. After lunch, the group traveled to the historic site of the St. Vincent DePaul Catholic Church, where Sister Helen and Dennis would speak that evening to an overwhelming crowd of supporters.

While Sister Helen was speaking to a group of DePaul University students, Dennis got a wonderful tour of Chicago by the one-and-only, Jennifer Bishop. Afterwards, everyone met for dinner at a local nearby restaurant.

Dennis got to meet other powerful abolitionists such as Andrea Lyon and her son, Will, Jennifer’s sister, Jeanne, Private Detective, Mort Smith, Dominick Fortunato, and Bill Bishop—Jennifer’s husband.

The speaking event was a total success. Dennis spoke first, describing the horrifying events of his false incarceration. His very vivid accounts of the very painful experiences that he received in prison captured everyone’s attention—bringing tears to everyone’s eyes.

First and foremost, Dennis gave special credit to the Lord, and then (to his family ---- Mother, Aunt, and Daughter ) for giving him back his precious freedom that had been so unjustly stripped from him. Dennis said, “I am a happy man who has grown so much in the past year or so. I feel a renewed confidence and composure when I share my story with everyone.

Life is short, but we must live every day as if it were our last.” With that said, Dennis introduced Sister Helen Prejean, who immediately touched everyone’s heart through her powerful presence and speaking abilities.
Sister Helen described her monumental efforts in working as an author, abolitionist, and speaker, to abolish the horrid death penalty around the country. She spoke of the countless death row inmates that she had counseled shortly before their executions. Her strength of mind and courage came across to the audience loud and clear. Her years of first hand experiences in fighting the many battles within the legal system ( to abolish the death penalty ) greatly accentuated and fortified everyone’s feelings and hopes that the cruel punishment of death would be outlawed—forever!

Her mannerisms, gestures, and outright determination, brought forth feelings of admiration and love for her. May God bless you, forever, Sister Helen.

The following day, Dennis participated in a book singing at the DePaul, Barnes and Noble bookstore. Dennis met and talked with a great number of people while selling his books.

He learned that even the store manager, Debra, had worked for 6 years as an attorney with the capital death penalty division. Her presence added greatly to Dennis’ spiritual inspiration to personally share his story with every customer within the bookstore. Dennis said that he has fond memories of the wonderful people that he had met, and, so enjoyed the magnificent city of Chicago.

He said, “it is very emotionally draining and somewhat stressful, to go back and re-live the accounts of his nightmare conviction out-of- hell. But, it is worth every ounce of energy that I have to give, to help bring forth the change and education that everyone needs and deserves to learn about.”

PHOTOS OF TOUR HERE

Innocence Project Benefit, A Celebration of Freedom and Justice

2008-05-16T16:30:00.010-04:00

Photo left to right: Dennis Fritz - John Grisham - Barry Scheck - Janet Difiore - Peter Neufeld
Exonerated man and victim’s family are reunited at the Innocence Project second annual benefit.

Here is a great story from the Innocence Project about the event:
PHOTOS AND SLIDESHOW CLICK HERE

While jazz pianist Jonathan Batiste played “What a Wonderful World,” at the Innocence Project benefit, “A Celebration of Freedom and Justice,” on May 7 in New York City, exoneree Dennis Fritz asked 65-year-old Peggy Carter Sanders to take the stage with him and dance. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison and was wrongfully incarcerated for 11 years for the murder of Sanders’ daughter, Debra Sue Carter of Ada, Oklahoma. Fritz and his co-defendant Ron Williamson developed a relationship with Carter’s family after their exoneration in 1999. Both men were exonerated through DNA testing and with the help of the Innocence Project.
Williamson passed away in 2004, but his sisters Renee Simmons and Annette Hudson also attended the benefit. Williamson’s family, Carter’s family, and Fritz came to New York from all around the country to join the Innocence Project in honoring John Grisham for his best selling book, The Innocent Man, which tells the story of Williamson’s wrongful conviction. Fritz shared a table at the benefit with two of Carter’s relatives—her cousin, Christy Sheppard, and he mother Peggy Carter Sanders.

A recent New York Times column by Jim Dwyer looks at the poignant moment last week when Fritz and Sanders danced as 600 Innocence Project supporters looked on. The column discusses the friendship forged between the two wrongfully convicted men and the mother of the victim—despite some people’s unwillingness to accept that a mistake had been made in the case:

“Ms. Sanders saw it plain. All around her, though, people refused to rewrite the ending to her daughter’s murder, clinging to the belief that Mr. Fritz and Mr. Williamson somehow had been part of the killing, a spurning of reality so common that it has practically become an epidemic as DNA tests, year in and out, clear the wrongfully convicted.”

Read the full story here.
Fritz was one of a dozen exonerees who attended the benefit. Also honored was the law firm Mayer Brown, for its collaboration with the Innocence Project in reforming eyewitness identification procedures.
Learn more about Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson's . cases.
Learn more about how the Innocence Project is working with victims and their families, including Christy Sheppard and Peggy Carter Sanders, to improve the criminal justice system. (See page 10 of this PDF for “Common Interests.”)
PHOTOS AND SLIDESHOW CLICK HERE

Dennis Fritz Dances with Debra Sue Carter's Mother Fritz was exonerated for Carter's murder

2008-05-10T11:29:00.008-04:00

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

In the Face of Great Loss, Embracing Innocence

By JIM DWYER
Published:New York Times May 10, 2008
The woman was seated just two chairs away at the table, but the man had to speak over music that filled the room.

At an Innocence Project dinner, Peggy Sanders danced with Dennis Fritz, who was sent to prison for her daughter’s murder.
“Peggy,” he said.

For a minute, Peggy Sanders did not hear her name being called. She is 65 and was visiting New York this week for the first time from a small town in Oklahoma to attend a big benefit dinner.

As a young virtuoso played piano, Ms. Sanders swayed slightly in her chair.

“Peggy,” the man said.

She glanced up.

“Want to dance?” he asked.

She giggled, the way an aunt might at a rambunctious nephew who tries to coax her onto the dance floor at a wedding. But she did not take his question seriously. Of the 600 people at the dinner, no one else made a move to dance: The chair backs had just inches of clearance.

Even so, the man who asked the question, Dennis Fritz, needed no more encouragement. He edged around the table and took her hand. The floor may have been crowded, but the stage was wide open. He led her to the stairs. She climbed up, a crown of white hair over her smile. Mr. Fritz wore jeans and a sport coat.

She lifted her hands and put them on his back and shoulder. They drifted together and gently twirled, a dance salvaged from a trail of wreckage that stretches back to 1982.

Peggy Sanders first saw Dennis Fritz 21 years ago, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit as he was brought into the courthouse in Ada, Okla., to face charges that he had murdered Ms. Sanders’s daughter Debbie Carter. She was 21, a waitress who had just gotten her own apartment, when she was killed in December 1982.

“I hated him so bad,” Ms. Sanders said. “Why did they do that to my little girl?”

Mr. Fritz, a high school science teacher, was spared the death penalty by one vote and got life without parole. A co-defendant, Ron Williamson, once a star pitching prospect, was sentenced to die. He came within five days of execution.

Neither man had anything to do with the crime: They were convicted on the word of jailhouse snitches who bartered their stories for sweetheart plea deals and by pseudoscientific testimony that falsely linked them to 17 hairs found at the crime scene. In 1999, lawyers in Oklahoma and with the Innocence Project in New York arranged DNA tests that cleared Mr. Fritz and Mr. Williamson. The tests implicated another man, whose DNA was matched to the hair and semen found on the victim’s body.

“They were railroaded,” Ms. Sanders said. The other man is now serving a life sentence for the murder.

Ms. Sanders saw it plain. All around her, though, people refused to rewrite the ending to her daughter’s murder, clinging to the belief that Mr. Fritz and Mr. Williamson somehow had been part of the killing, a spurning of reality so common that it has practically become an epidemic as DNA tests, year in and out, clear the wrongfully convicted.

The elders of Mr. Williamson’s family church refused to let the two men use the hall for a press conference after their release. The Williamson family received threatening calls. Their pastor pointedly did not acknowledge Mr. Williamson from the pulpit when he came for his first church service after leaving prison.

Then Mr. Williamson, a high school baseball star drafted in the second round in 1971 by the Oakland Athletics, made a call to Ms. Sanders.

“He said, ‘This is Ron Williamson; I did not kill your daughter,’ ” Ms. Sanders recalled. “I said, ‘I know, hon.’ ”

Ms. Sanders, who married as a teenager and quickly had three children, struggled for years after the murder of Debbie. Yet she embraced Mr. Williamson, Mr. Fritz and their families after the men were exonerated.

“I had to do it for my daughter,” she said. “They had become victims of this, too. People still don’t believe they’re innocent. I was just at a funeral, and a woman come up to me and said, ‘I know them two done it.’ I said, ‘No, they didn’t.’ ”

Mr. Williamson, who suffered from psychiatric problems, died in 2004. He is the subject of John Grisham’s book “The Innocent Man.” Mr. Fritz, 58, now lives in Missouri, and has also written a book, “Journey Toward Justice.” Christy Sheppard, a cousin of the murder victim, has become an advocate for the establishment of commissions to look into wrongful convictions.

All of them — the family of Debbie Carter, the family of Mr. Williamson, Mr. Grisham and Mr. Fritz — sat at one table Thursday evening for a dinner benefiting the Innocence Project.

Until an impulse hit Dennis Fritz, and he led his friend Peggy Sanders onto the stage, and they danced where everyone could see them.

Tabitha Pollock Wrongfully Convicted For Murder For Not Being A Mind Reader

2008-04-28T21:50:00.029-04:00

Tabitha Pollock wrongfully convicted based on what she should have known. Tabitha Pollock was sleeping when her live-in boyfriend, Scott English, killed her 3-year-old daughter, Jami Sue, in the early morning hours of October 10, 1995, at their home in Kewanee, Illinois.

Exonerated Tabitha Pollock was charged with first-degree murder because prosecutors believed she should have known of the danger, Pollock spent more than six years in prison before the Illinois Supreme Court threw out the conviction. The state of Illinois and many other states accept the notion that parents may be held legally accountable for the deaths of their children when they have witnessed or otherwise know of grave threats to their safety. Ms. Pollock's case differed in that she was held responsible on what lawyers call a negligence theory — that Tabitha Pollock should have known of the potential danger, even if she did not.
A negligence standard is seldom used in the criminal law. "Should have known," the high court ruled, was not nearly enough to keep Pollock behind bars.

At her trial, the prosecution produced no witness who had suspected her boyfriend of prior abuse. "How could I have known he would murder my precious baby girl?" Ms. Pollock wrote. "I did not know, yet I received 36 years in prison for not being a mind reader."

With a felony record, she cannot become a teacher, as she wants. She cannot collect damages from the Illinois government.
In Illinois, to regain a certifiably clean record and collect compensation - a lump payment of $60,150 for five years or less in prison, or $120,300 for six to 14 years - an exonerated inmate must obtain a "pardon based on innocence" from the governor. A 15-member state review board interviews the petitioners and makes a recommendation, but the governor is not obligated to make a decision.

To fully clear her name, Pollock needs an official pardon,which only the governor can give. Please let's help Tabitha Pollock with her official pardon and email Gov. Rod Blagojevich, click on link HERE.

She applied in 2002 but has received no word.
Please email Gov. Rod Blagojevich requesting an official pardon for Tabitha Pollock so she can become a teacher.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has this on his website:
"The Governor certainly appreciates your issues and concerns. Please know that your matter will be promptly forwarded to his office for review." http://www.illinois.gov/gov/contactthegovernor.cfm

A spokesman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) said last month that the governor is flooded with petitions and has not had time to focus on Pollock's case.
More:
Tabitha Pollock was sleeping when her live-in boyfriend, Scott English, killed her 3-year-old daughter, Jami Sue, in the early morning hours of October 10, 1995, at their home in Kewanee, Illinois.
The following year, a Henry County jury convicted Pollock of first-degree murder and aggravated battery based on the prosecution's contention that she “should have known” English posed a danger to Jami Sue's life. The judge sentenced Pollock to 36 years in prison.
The Third District Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the conviction in 1999, even though the trial judge had observed during a post-trial proceeding that Pollock “did not commit the act of killing, nor did she intend to kill the child, nor was she present in the room when her boyfriend killed the child.” Click here to Read Appellate Court Opinion.
You can read more about the case on University School of Law Bluhm Legal Clinic Website.
UPDATE - NOV. 2008
A road to compensation opens in wrongful conviction cases
New Illinois law bypasses wait for a pardon
By Azam Ahmed
Chicago Tribune reporter
October 14, 2008
Former Illinois inmates exonerated of wrongdoing now have another recourse after enduring long delays for clemency decisions by the governor.Lawyers at Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions plan to take advantage Wednesday of a new law that allows the exonerated to circumvent the governor and file for certificates of innocence directly from circuit courts.Previously, those who were wrongfully convicted needed the governor's pardon to obtain compensation for their time in prison, even if their convictions had been thrown out. As a result, many waited years for Gov. Rod Blagojevich—who had amassed a sizable backlog of petitions—to make a clemency decision."We can never give them back the years they lost with their families and the pay they lost, but this bill will give them the opportunity to be educated, be given job training and the necessary assistance to get back on their feet," said Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), the bill's sponsor.The new law will make the process faster for those whose convictions have been reversed, dismissed or otherwise set aside. Before the legislation was passed, Illinois was among the few states that required a pardon from the governor to obtain compensation for wrongful imprisonment.The bill passed state House and Senate, only to be vetoed by Blagojevich in late August. But both chambers overrode the veto, and the bill was passed into law in late September.Staff from the wrongful convictions center plan to file petitions Wednesday for Marlon Pendleton, Robert Wilson, Marcus Lyons and Tabitha Pollock.Pendleton, who has waited years for a clemency decision by Blagojevich, was the subject of a Tribune story in June that focused on the governor's backlog of pardons and its impact on the wrongfully convicted.Pendleton was hopeful on Monday about his prospects for finally receiving compensation."It's been a long time coming," said Pendleton, who was cleared by DNA testing and released from prison after serving more than decade for a sexual assault conviction.

John Grisham Focuses on Falsely Condemned

2008-04-26T15:16:00.003-04:00

An obituary in The New York Times changed the way attorney-turned-best-selling author John Grisham looked at the law.
On Dec. 9, 2004, he was skimming the Times and came across the headline, “Ronald Williamson, Freed from Death Row, Dies at 51.”

After reading the story, he knew it would be his next book and his first foray into nonfiction. It also was the beginning of his work with innocence projects attempting to correct flaws in America’s legal system.

“There are thousands of innocent people in prison in this country,” Grisham said yesterday at University of Richmond’s T.C. Williams School of Law.
“I had never really thought about wrongful conviction. I didn’t really think about it until ‘The Innocent Man’ was researched and written,” said the author of “The Firm” and other legal thrillers.

Grisham spoke to dozens of students and faculty associated with UR’s newly established Institute for Actual Innocence. The program, which involves students, faculty and practicing lawyers, works to identify and exonerate wrongfully convicted individuals in Virginia. It is part of a national group of similar innocence projects.

Mary Kelly Tate, the institute’s director, said overturning convictions in Virginia can be difficult. “We have some of the most challenging procedural hurdles and underfunding,” she said. At her request, Grisham came to UR from his home in Charlottesville to speak to participants in the project.
“The Innocent Man,” published in 2006, examines Ron Williamson’s wrongful conviction stemming from a brutal murder in Oklahoma in 1982.
“Based on hair analysis, snitches and a couple of bogus confessions, Ron was given the death penalty,” Grisham said. Williamson stayed on death row for years until a team of appellate lawyers sought a writ of habeas corpus and he was granted a stay five days before he was to be executed.

DNA tests ultimately cleared Williamson and a co-defendant.
“Life after exoneration is not pleasant,” Grisham said. “He was set free without an apology. No one has the courage to say they were wrong. The state wants you to go away and not make any noise.”
Grisham cited a number or reasons for wrongful convictions, including sloppy police work, courthouse snitches, junk science, false confessions and bad lawyering. Of the 130 death-row cases that have been overturned in the U.S., he said, two-thirds of them involved willful, malicious misconduct by authorities.
“The challenge now is to convince a lot of comfortable white people that there are a lot of innocent people in prison.
“This system, if we think it’s so great — how can this system send 130 men to death row and later have them exonerated?”
Grisham urged law students to consider some reforms to current judicial procedure, including increasing video interrogations, clamping down on informants, and changing perceptions that police and prosecutors are infallible.
“We should be able to design a system that guarantees everyone basic constitutional rights,” he said.

Date and Source April 25, 2008 Lisa Crutchfield Lynchburg News and Advance-Lynchburg, VA

Suing The DA

2008-04-25T11:08:00.012-04:00

Should prosecutors be immune from civil lawsuits?

Radley Balko April 24, 2008

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Thomas Goldstein, an ex-marine who was convicted of murdering his neighbor.
Goldstein served 24 years before his conviction was thrown out when the main witness against him was shown to have lied. That witness was a lifelong criminal who was given a deal on his own charges in exchange for testimony that Goldstein confessed to him in a jail cell. Goldstein alleges that the district attorney's office that prosecuted the case routinely used the testimony of so-called "jailhouse snitches" prosecutors knew or should have known weren't reliable.

Goldstein's case is unusual because he's not suing the prosecutor who convicted him, but John Van de Camp, the district attorney who supervised that prosecutor. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has allowed Goldstein's case to go forward, causing the U.S. Supreme Court to agree to hear it.
Goldstein's lawsuit stems from federal law 42 U.S.C. 1983, which states that
"…[e]very person" who acts under color of state law to deprive another of a
constitutional rights shall be answerable to that person in a suit for damages," and provides a means for those wronged by government officials to file suit in federal court.

But there are exceptions to Section 1983 suits. In the 1976 case Imbler v.Pachtman, the U.S. Supreme Court carved out a wide exception to the law to exempt prosecutors.

The Court said common law tradition grants prosecutors have what's known as
"absolute immunity" from civil rights suits, meaning that they can't be sued,
provided they're acting in their capacity as prosecutors.
Few people enjoy such protections in their own line of work (judges have absolute immunity as well).

But this complete shield from accountability is especially problematic when we're talking about prosecutors. It's a job that's already plagued by incentive problems.
We tend to measure a prosecutor's performance based on how many people he's able to throw in jail, not necessarily by how well he metes out justice.

Rarely, for example, does a prosecutor get public recognition for the cases he doesn't take. So we have people in a position where they have the enormous power to take away someone's freedom, incentives nudging them to err on the side of prosecuting aggressively, and absolute immunity from lawsuits should they overstep their bounds.

It's a recipe for abuse.. . . .Read More Here
Radley Balko is a senior editor for reasononline.
About Reason Online
Reason is the monthly print magazine of “free minds and free markets.” It covers politics, culture, and ideas through a provocative mix of news, analysis, commentary, and reviews. Reason provides a refreshing alternative to right-wing and left-wing opinion magazines by making a principled case for liberty and individual choice in all areas of human activity. Reason Online is entirely free.
Reason and Reason Online are editorially independent publications of the Reason Foundation, a national, non-profit research and educational organization.
A version of this article originally appeared at FoxNews.com.

SOUTH DAKOTA UNIVERSITY HONORS DENNIS FRITZ AS GUEST, KEYNOTE SPEAKER

2008-04-20T21:25:00.022-04:00

Dennis Fritz, Author of Journey Toward Justice,arrived in Vermillion, South Dakota, to share his nightmare-out-of-hell story, of the unjust and wrongful conviction for 1st Degree Capital Murder— that he had to suffer for 12 grueling years before justice finally prevailed.
April 7, 2008,

Upon entering the South Dakota Law School, Dennis was warmly greeted with open arms by the entirely of the Innocence Project staff members, and students. After refreshments and pictures, Dennis was escorted to the Courtroom forum, where a crowd of over 200 people awaited his presence. The air was filled with anticipation and electricity as Mr. Fritz took his seat, before being introduced by the President, Emily Sippel, of the South Dakota, Innocence Project.

In his casual style and deliberate manner, Dennis quickly gained everyone’s attention as he started describing the horrifying events of his crucifying, wrongful conviction. You could not hear a pin drop, as Dennis talked about those very painful years in prison, and how he mentally and emotionally overcame all obstacles— to achieve his long, sought-after freedom.

Dennis spoke of his daughter, mother, and aunt, who stood by him throughout the on-going nightmare. While pointing upward, Dennis gave full credit to the Lord for pulling him out of the gates of hell. With a big smile, and tears in his eyes, Dennis loudly announced, “I am a free man!
Every day when I wake up and open my eyes, I fully realize that the most precious gift in life, itself, is our FREEDOM.” Throughout the entirely of Dennis’ presentation, the audience sat on the edge of their seats, listening to his sad, and tragic story.
At times, you could hear a restrained, muffled cough from someone in the awe-struck audience, who was trying to hold back their tears and utter sorrow— for Mr. Fritz’s painful plight in regaining his freedom.

At the end of his presentation, Dennis revealed how the real killer, Glen Gore, was brought to justice through the same DNA testing that freed him and his co-defendant, Ronnie Williamson.

Both Dennis’ and Ronnie’s story was also told by John Grisham, in his book, ‘The Innocent Man’—which is now being produced into a major motion picture. Dennis’ Journey Toward Justice, is still unfolding itself, in the form of his efforts to unite with Innocence Projects and law schools, in bringing about the much-needed greater awareness, of preventing and rectifying wrongful convictions.
Dennis is now a certified board member with the Midwestern Innocence Project, in Kansas City, Missouri, and the Western Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

In his own words, Dennis said that, “I have such fond memories of the people— and their cause— at the South Dakota Innocence Project, where I will always feel welcome, and a true part of
their motivation and dedication. Thank you, so much for your constant efforts in seeking the truth!”

Click Here For More Photos For Slideshow click on top of photos to view slideshow

Canada's Last Hanging 1962 TV and Radio Clips

2008-04-18T19:20:00.009-04:00

"You shall be hanged by the neck until you are dead."
A judge has uttered these words to 1,300 Canadians.
More than 700 of them actually went to the gallows before Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976.
But opinions on the noose have tended to shift over time.
Protests in the 1960's were met with questions about preventing the murder of police officers and prison guards.
Today, the debate is ongoing, especially for multiple murderers like Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo

Death Penalty Debate 8 television clips - 9 radio clips
Topic spans: 1962 - 1987 Click Here
Canada's last hanging.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Youth and Wrongful Convictions - Start a School Group or Community Organization

2008-04-10T21:43:00.004-04:00

News From The Innocence Project
Youth are affected by wrongful convictions – and also have unique power to spark change in our criminal justice system. By organizing at your high school, college or university, or in your community, you can raise awareness about wrongful convictions and engage more people in pursuing reforms to prevent injustice.

If your campus or community already has an organization dedicated to preventing wrongful convictions, the tools and ideas in this section can help expand your reach and impact. If you are interested in forming a group, this section can help you get started.

There’s no right or wrong way to start an organization. Every high school, college, university and community is different, and you should gauge the local culture to get a sense of what will attract other students to your organization and how you can make sure the group has a lasting presence on campus or in the community.

Here are
some general tips: Innocence Project.org - Start A Group

The Innocence Project launched a new campaign this week -- "947 Years: In their prime. In prison. Innocent." -- to educate and engage youth in preventing wrongful convictions.

This new campaign focuses on people who were wrongfully imprisoned when they were just kids. As a campaign announcement tells us, "One-third of the people exonerated by DNA testing nationwide were arrested between the ages of 14 and 22. They served a combined total of 947 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit. "That's 947 wasted years that these people will never get back.

Help Me Free The Innocent From Prison

2008-04-08T12:41:00.007-04:00

I just signed the Innocence Project's petition to help prisoners in all 50 states get access to the DNA testing that can prove their innocence.

People in their teens and early 20s are the most affected by wrongful convictions, and I'm standing up with the Innocence Project to help free the wrongfully convicted. Click on the link below to sign the petition today!

CLICK here or type in http://www.innocenceproject.org/petition

Everyone deserves justice
I support DNA testing in every case where it can overturn a wrongful conviction or confirm guilt. Everyone deserves justice, and there is no reason to deny testing that could lead to the exoneration of an innocent person. Post-conviction DNA access benefits the wrongfully convicted and their families and it also helps crime victims, prosecutors, law enforcement officers and the public because it often identifies the true perpetrators of crimes.

The few states without DNA testing laws should immediately enact reforms that explicitly allow access to post-conviction testing.

All 50 states should have laws that ensure that DNA testing, when it has the possibility to overturn a wrongful conviction, is:

available to every person convicted of a crime, regardless of whether he or she is currently incarcerated;
available regardless of whether a convicted person confessed, pled guilty, or has exhausted his or her appeals; and
not subject to an expiration or sunset date.

DENNIS FRITZ SHARES HIS ELECTRIFYING STORY AT THE MIDWESTERN INNOCENCE PROJECT KICKOFF AND VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION

2008-04-04T19:41:00.043-04:00

February 15, 2008, the Midwestern Innocence Project in Kansas City, Missouri, launched the beginning of it’s celebrative kickoff, to establish their directives and goals to exonerate falsely-convicted people out of prison.
Lawyers, media, Paralegals, Investigators, and Volunteers, took their seats—following the “free lunch”—anxiously awaiting, as Executive Director, Jay Swearingen, introduced Dennis Fritz as the keynote speaker for the day’s event.

Dennis, through his positive attitude, and precise speaking abilities, conveyed the torturous account of his very painful and exhausting journey— of the 12 year nightmare that he underwent—of being falsely convicted for 1st Degree Capitol Murder. At times, during his talk, his voice would sometimes quiver as partial tears would form in his eyes.

He described the tremendous amounts of suffering that he endured throughout his horrible experience. All eyes were glued upon him, as he vividly described what prison life was really like. “Every day was filled with tremendous amounts of unbelievable stress and fear for my life.
You could never relax in prison, due to the fact that, at any time, other predatory inmates would often put sacks over their heads—with shanks (homemade knives) in hand—and steal everything you owned! If you reported the assault, then you would be labeled a “snitch” and would surely be murdered for your wrongful communication with the prison officials.”

Dennis captured everyone’s attention, when he most graciously introduced family members and their falsely convicted relatives.

To wit: Dale and Donna Horner, whose nephew Steve Allen has been falsely convicted for 17 years of allegedly murdering his wife—and, Evelyn Case, whose son Byron Case, has been claiming his innocence for the past 6 years.
The audience roared with laughter as Dennis told the story of an account that happened after he had been released from prison:

“When I was released from prison, after having spent several days with my daughter, Elizabeth, my mother and I returned to Kansas City—where I now reside. My Mom owned a 1966 Malibu Chevy, that at very first sight, I was itching to get behind the wheel.
Although I did not have a driver’s license, I got behind the wheel and put the key in the ignition.
There I was, driving down the road as a free man with zeal in my pounding heart, that was sending cold chills rushing down my spine. I realized that I had NOT forgotten how to drive a car after 12 long years.
It was GREAT!! That is, until I noticed that the gas gauge was on empty. I headed straight for the nearby convenience store with $5 in my wallet. I pulled up to the gas pumps, got out, and then realized that I didn’t know how to pump gas. It was a very strange feeling. I didn’t want to go inside the store and ask the attendant how to pump gas? Surely, he would have called the looney wagon to pick me up, and take me away to the funny farm.
I stood there pondering what to do? Then, from out of nowhere, the gas pump started talking to me!!!! I froze. The words, ‘What did I do wrong’ blurted out in my mind!!! I quickly jumped into the car and sped away, with the thought that the police would be right behind me at any time.” Later, I learned that things had definitely changed—and that gas pumps CAN TALK!!!

After Dennis’ presentation, Jay Swearingen, then proceeded to outline the parameters of the 2008 kick-start program. In an eloquent speaking style, Jay brought to light the financial aspects and barriers that would be involved in successfully moving forward to bring about the much-needed support and success for the Midwestern Innocence Project. In a free-style speaking manner, Jay brush painted his many objectives to the all-attentive audience, speaking as he slowly walked up and down the center isle that divided the seated guests.
His brilliant articulation and wholesome, honest personality penetrated throughout the congregated attendees. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind, that Jay was the MAN for the job—to help take the Innocence Project to the utmost heights of success!!!!!

Jay then introduced the new Director, Tiffany Murphy. With a huge smile upon her face, Tiffany wasted no time, as she started educating everyone—in her down-to-earth approach— as to the complicated phases of the judicial processes that an attorney must go through for their clients. Her composure was extra-ordinary!
Although the judicial guidelines seemed at first, very difficult for everyone to apprehend, Tiffany’s layman way of communicating, brought about an in-depth understanding to everyone there. Of course, by that time, everyone had finished their pizza and were whole-heartedly focused on her broad judicial explanations.

The audience asked many questions that had always perplexed them in the past. By the time that Tiffany had finished her power-point presentation, the people in the audience seemed very satisfied, relaxed, and knowledgeable as to their own particular circumstances. Tiffany Murphy!— such a wonderful, skilled, professional person and attorney, that is nothing short of a bulldog fighting for the rights of the wrongfully convicted.

The final event of the day was a book signing by Dennis Fritz. His book entitled, Journey Toward Justice, will live forever. Being the co-companion book of John Grisham’s, The Innocent Man, Dennis masterfully interwove his 1st perspective, in-depth accounts of his nightmare out of hell.
The book signing was also a success. Everyone was so interested in meeting Dennis, and found him to be such a inspirational person, as to his strength and determination, that was pivotal in helping him endure those unmerciful, 12 years of being wrongfully incarcerated.
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DENNIS FRITZ SHARES HIS ELECTRIFYING STORY AT THE MIDWESTERN INNOCENCE PROJECT

You can find Dennis Fritz's book here Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz click here On Amazon Here or Borders Books.
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