Chris L. Ross Next Pontotoc County, Oklahoma District Attorney

The top assistant in the Pontotoc County district attorney's office has been named to head the office. Gov. Brad Henry announced the appointment Chris L. Ross as district attorney for the 22nd District, which encompasses Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.
He succeeds William Peterson, who is resigning effective Jan. 1.
Chris L. Ross, who is 50 has 24 years of experience and has been with the prosecutor's office since 1983. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1979, Ross earned his law degree from the OU College of Law in 1982. Chris Ross is married and has two children.

During a question-and-answer period at the Oklahoma Bar Association annual meeting urged to tackle wrongful convictions, Pontotoc County First Assistant District Attorney Chris Ross, who prosecuted Glen Gore, outlined changes that have been made in the office since the Debra Sue Carter Rape and Murder case.
He said defense attorneys have immediate access to documents,tapes and other items in the prosecution's files, so a defendant's lawyers do not have to wait until a discover date to obtain information. Ross also said that prosecutors' offices, particularly those in small counties that rarely see capital cases, need more training in handling them. Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, who said his office also maintains an "open file" policy with defense attorneys, said prosecutors must be kept up to date on forensic science.
It is also important not to gauge prosecutors' success or failure by their conviction rate, he said.
"We've got to change that culture," Prater said.
The idea, he said, is seeing that justice is done.
"It's not a hash mark," Prater said. "It's a human life.

Big changes for Ada, Oklahoma. I wish the Best for Chris Ross and the Great and Proud people of Oklahoma.

During Peterson’s career several high profile murder cases have been tried. Bill Peterson has also been the subject of much controversy because of his prosecutions of Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson. Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson, who were both convicted of the 1982 murder and rape of Debra Sue Carter. After Williamson received a last-minute stay of execution, and Fritz's long-standing efforts to obtain post-conviction DNA testing were successful, DNA results conclusively excluded both men as the source of the semen found in the victim's body. The profile from the semen instead matched Glen Gore. Glen Gore was the prosecutor's key witness. Further DNA testing also proved that not one of the seventeen hairs deemed to be "matches" with Williamson and/or Fritz at the time of trial (under the microscopic analysis then available) belonged to either. As a result, both defendants were exonerated and released from prison in 1999. Bill Peterson also got questionable convictions on Ward and Fontenot , and they are still in prison.
Peterson sued author John Grisham in September 2007 for libel for the portrayal of him in Grisham's first nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man." Other defendants in the lawsuit are:

• Author Dennis Fritz ,who tells his story of his unwarranted prosecution and wrongful conviction his book "Journey Toward Justice".
  


• Barry Scheck, one of Fritz's lawyers who helped exonerate him in 1999, and a co-author of "Actual Innocence," that discusses the case of Williamson and Fritz.
  


• Robert Mayer, author of "The Dreams of Ada." - Mayer's book discusses another Pontotoc County murder case that is also mentioned in Grisham's book. The murder of Denice Haraway and the subsequent investigation, prosecution and conviction of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot. Bill Peterson got questionable convictions on Ward and Fontenot , and they are still in prison. Robert Mayer, author of The Dreams of Ada; and Barry Scheck, with The Innocence Project, have also filed motions asking the court to dismiss the lawsuit against them.
  


• 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."Seven Locks Press and James Riordan have asked that the complaint against them be dismissed for failure to state a claim.


• In addition to Peterson, other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Gary Rogers, a former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent, and Melvin Hett, a retired OSBI criminalist. Bill Peterson and Gary 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 Peterson and Rogers lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges civil conspiracy, libel, placing a person in a false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

John Grisham and The Innocent Man Dennis Fritz Journey Toward Justice Lawsuit - Fritz is The Other Innocent Man in Grisham's Book The Innocent Man

Friday, September 28, 2007 12:43 PM CDT
TULSA, Okla. - Legal thriller writer John Grisham, an Arkansas native, has been named in a libel lawsuit filed over a nonfiction book he wrote about the 1982 murder of Debbie Sue Carter in Ada.
The lawsuit, filed Friday morning U.S. District Court, also names several other defendants and seeks relief of more than $75,000.

The two men originally convicted of Carter's murder, Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, were later exonerated by DNA evidence and freed after 12 years in prison.

Their experiences are chronicled in two books, John Grisham's first nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man," and Fritz's "Journey Toward Justice."

Fritz is among those named as a defendant.

The plaintiffs are Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson, based in Ada, and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)
The Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson is the prosecutor who sent Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson, 2 innocent men to prison for 12 years with no evidence against them. The real killer was the prosecution's key witness.
I will leave my comments to myself. But,Please add your comments to my blog. Barbara's Journey Toward Justice HERE

Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were exonerated and released in April 1999

From The Innocence Project

DENNIS FRITZ
Incident Year: 1982

Jurisdiction: OK

Charge: Murder

Conviction: 1st Degree Murder

Sentence: Life
Year of Conviction: 1988

Exoneration Year: 1999

Sentence Served: 11 Years

Real perpetrator found? Yes

Contributing Causes: Unreliable/Limited Science, False Confessions, Informants/Snitches

Compensation? Yes


Dennis Fritz, along with co-defendant Ron Williamson, was convicted in 1988, in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, of the murder of Debra Sue Carter. Her body had been found six years earlier. Fritz was sentenced to life in prison. Williamson was sent to death row.

The twenty-one year old victim had left her waitressing job and was found raped and murdered in her apartment the following day. Fritz and Williamson were known to frequent the establishment where the victim worked. The prosecution presented evidence that the victim had previously complained to a friend that they "made her nervous." Williamson had been seen at the restaurant the night of the murder without Fritz.

Fritz was not charged until five years later after the murder (delayed by state exhumation of victim after an incorrect analysis of finger prints at the scene was noted). An inmate that Fritz was paired with eventually came forward and stated that Fritz had confessed to the murder. This jailhouse snitch gave a two hour taped interview revealing what Fritz had allegedly confessed to him. This confession came one day before the prosecution would have been forced to drop the charges against Fritz. Another informant testified that she had heard Williamson threaten to harm his mother as he had the victim. Williamson was also seen at the bar the night of the murder, according to a witness named Glenn Gore. Additionally, police had statements from Williamson regarding a dream he had about the crime.

Forensic testing was performed on various items of evidence. Seventeen hairs were recovered and were "matched" to both Fritz and Williamson. The semen evidence suggested that the perpetrator(s) were non-secretors, as Fritz and Williamson are. Fritz could not remember his exact whereabouts during the day of the crime due to the amount of time, five years, that had passed.

Fritz's appeals were denied. He later contacted the Innocence Project for help. It was learned that the physical evidence was going to be tested due to appeals filed by Ron Williamson's lawyers. Fritz filed an injunction to make sure that the evidence would not be totally consumed until the cases were joined with regard to DNA testing.

DNA testing revealed that neither Fritz nor Williamson deposited the spermatozoa found in the victim. Further testing proved that none of the many hairs that were labeled "matches" belonged to them. The profile obtained from the semen evidence matched Glenn Gore, one of the state's witnesses at trial. Gore escaped from work release shortly after testing was concluded and was later apprehended.

Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson were exonerated and released in April 1999. Williamson had, at one point, come within five days of execution. The two had been wrongfully incarcerated, respectively, for eleven years.

Dennis Fritz wrote a Book called "Journey Toward Justice" click here On Amazon Here
International Orders Order Here Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz From Around The World click on here Amazon International Just type in Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz

NBC Dateline Tuesday May 22 The Ada Hour Injustice of Wrongful Convictions Featuring Dennis Fritz Author of Journey Toward Justice

NBC Dateline will air on Tuesday May 22 The Ada Hour.
The Ada Hour will chronicle the repeated injustice of wrongful convictions.
In addition to John Grisham, District Attorney Bill Peterson, Barry Scheck and Robert Mayer the piece will feature Dennis Fritz the author of Journey Toward Justice. Please feel free to post your comments about The Ada Hour here.

They Falsely Accused E-Book By Matt Thompson

Today I receive an email from Matt Thompson telling me his story, his website and and his E-Book. I told him I would Add and Share it in a post.
This is from his website.

THEY FALSELY ACCUSED is a book about yet another man wrongly convicted in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.

It's more of the same involving the legal system in Ada, as it reflects small-town America. Matt Thompson was convicted at trial of rape (yet acquitted of a second charge) and sent to prison with a fifteen-year sentence.

New evidence brought hope for a successful appeal, but that hope died more than five years later with the exhaustion of his appeals.

The lack of evidence, police trickery, and shifty stories are disturbingly similar to what happened to the men in THE INNOCENT MAN and THE DREAMS OF ADA.

Ninety-five percent of the book was written in the summer of 2000, before anyone knew where Ada was, but finding a publisher has been difficult because there has been no legal exoneration.

My goal this year is to self-publish if nothing else, and get the book into prison libraries and public libraries in America. Then almost everyone could have access to reading it through inter-library loan programs.

Please contact my friend (and literary agent) Jeff Schmidt of NY Creative Management with any publishing offers or requests.

In the meantime, the e-book tells the story just the same. The final chapter is a must read of what to do if falsely accused:
how to investigate, utilize your lawyer and handle the police and legal authorities.

We've known about the Pontotoc County injustices for a long time around here, and I'm sure glad others are learning of it too.

We can't wait for you to read THEY FALSELY ACCUSED. END

Another Case Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.
Dennis Fritz The Other Innocent Man in John Grisham's Book The Innocent Man.

Dennis Fritz writes his own story. Endorsed on Jacket by John Grisham and States on Jacket Compelling and Fascinating.

A Companion book to The Innocent Man, Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz. True Crime, Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. Journey Toward Justice is a testimony to the Triumph of the human Spirit and is a Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of rape and murder after a swift trail.

The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. Dennis Fritz was the other Innocent man mentioned in John Grisham's Book. which mainly is about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's co-defendant.

Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison.
The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. Read about why he went on a special diet of his while in prison, amazing and shocking. Dennis Fritz's Story of unwarranted prosecution and wrongful conviction needs to be
heard. Look for his book in book stores or at Amazon.com , Journey Toward Justice by Dennis Fritz, Publisher Seven Locks Press 2006. ..

Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975 by a deranged 17 year old neighbor.

On May 8th 1987, Five years after Debbie Sue Carter's rape and murder he was home with his young daughter and put under arrest, handcuffed and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder.
After 10 years in prison he discovered The Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization.

With the aid of Barry Scheck and DNA evidence Dennis Fritz was exonerated on April 15,1999 Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns and now on his Journey Toward Justice.

He never blamed the Lord and solely relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.


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