Innocence Project Benefit, A Celebration of Freedom and Justice

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

DA Bill Peterson Who Is Suing John Grisham Dennis Fritz Robert Mayer Barry Scheck and Their Publishers Retiring January

Bill Peterson district attorney for the 22nd district that includes Pontotoc, Seminole and Hughes counties, in Oklahoma said he plans to retire after Jan. 1. after 27 years.
In Sept. this year less then 2 months ago, Bill Peterson decided to sue John Grisham and Doubleday Dell Publishing Group.
The lawsuit also names:
•Dennis Fritz, the author of “Journey Toward Justice.”
•Robert Mayer, author of “The Dreams of Ada.”
•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.”The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges civil conspiracy, libel, placing a person in a false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Peterson says the defendants "coordinated their efforts to launch a massive joint defamatory attack" on him.

William N. Peterson got murder convictions on two men, Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson, who did 12 years in prison before they were cleared by DNA evidence. Fritz and Williamson's experiences are chronicled in two books, John Grisham's first nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man," and Dennis Fritz's, book, "Journey Toward Justice". Bill Peterson got questionable convictions on two other men, Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, in a separate murder case.
They are still in prison.
Robert Mayer, is the author of “The Dreams of Ada.” A book written primary about the murder of Denice Haraway and the subsequent investigation, prosecution and conviction of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot. The other Plaintiff in the lawsuit is Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.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.

"It is something I've been thinking about for a while and came to the conclusion that it is time,” Bill Peterson" told the Ada Evening News . "I am 64 years old and came to the realization it's time to go to another phase in my life.”

UPDATE SEPT.2008 - Click Here For Update - CASE DISMISSED

John Grisham and Dennis Fritz Lawsuit - Publisher welcomes libel suit

Seven Locks Press in Santa Ana is small-time, publishing about 25 titles a year. But it has joined big boys Doubleday and Random House, as well as author John Grisham and defense attorney Barry Scheck, as defendants in a defamation lawsuit involving the justice – or rather the in justice – system in the small town of Ada, Okla.

The lawsuit is one of the best things that's ever happened to Seven Locks and its owner, Jim Riordan.

"Quite frankly, when I get to put my name next to Grisham and Random House – I'll take that any day," says Riordan, who I met a few years ago when he was working with Deacon Jones on a charity fundraiser.

At the center of the lawsuit is an Oklahoma prosecutor by the name of William N. Peterson. He got murder convictions on two men who did 12 years in prison before they were cleared by DNA evidence. He also got questionable convictions on two other men in a separate murder case. They are still in prison.

The cases spawned three books: "The Dreams of Ada" by journalist Robert Mayer; "The Innocent Man," the first non-fiction book by author Grisham; and "Journey Toward Justice," by Dennis Fritz, who was one of the wrongly convicted men. To varying degrees, the books are critical of Peterson, who has been the elected district attorney for 27 years.

Seven Locks is Fritz's publisher. The first editions of the Grisham and Fritz books and an updated version of Mayer's were all published within weeks of each other last fall. Book tours and publicity ensued. Even Fritz, the least-known writer with the smallest house, got on "Dateline," "Hannity and Colmes" and other national shows. In Oklahoma, Peterson seethed.

Last Friday, Peterson and a detective who worked on the Fritz case sued the publishers, the authors and attorney Scheck, who represented Fritz, wrote the foreward for Fritz's book and wrote about the case in his own book, "Actual Innocence." Grisham had also provided a cover blurb for Fritz.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges civil conspiracy, libel, placing a person in a false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Peterson says the defendants "coordinated their efforts to launch a massive joint defamatory attack" on him and the detective.

"There's no merit," to the suit, Riordan says. The reason his book published two days before Grisham's was competitive.

By rights, Riordan says, Fritz's book should have gone to a major publishing house, but with Grisham's in the works at Random, no one else wanted to touch it. So, Riordan says, he bought it on the condition that it would be finished in time to compete with Grisham's, not complement it.

You tell from his voice that Riordan is as emotionally invested in Fritz's story as he is financially. He talks about how when Fritz finally got out of jail in 1999, he went to a motel and was puzzled when they wouldn't give him a key – just a piece of plastic that resembled a credit card. And how when he went to a gas station, no attendant came out to wait on him.

"That's what losing 12 years does to you," Riordan says.

I read "The Dreams of Ada." In about three days. In most true-crime books you're scared of the defendants. In this one, you're scared of the prosecutor. I have "Journey Toward Justice" on deck. It's sold about 35,000 copies so far, the fastest-selling book in Seven Lock's 30-year history. The lawsuit will only help.



read more Orange Countrys News Source FRANK MICKADEIT
Register columnist

UPDATE SEPT. 2008 CASE DISMISSED Grisham - Fritz - Mayer - Scheck Lawsuit
Click here for update

The New York Crank: Prosecutor and criminal investigator, discredited by various authors for outrageous prosecutions, decide to sue, sue, sue, sue, sue everybody

From The New York Crank Blog The New York Crank: Prosecutor and criminal investigator, discredited by various authors for outrageous prosecutions, decide to sue, sue, sue, sue, sue everybody
More from The New York Crank Blogger..So Prosecutor Peterson, along with former Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation gumshoe Gary Rogers are suing in an Oklahoma Federal court. According to the September 28th issue of the Tulsa, OK, World, their laundry-list of defendants against charges of libel and slander include:

•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.”

You’ll find more complete details here, with a link to the Tulsa World article:
http://justicedenied.org/wordpress/?p=23

I would fervently wish that the jury will decide to assign court and legal costs to the loser, except for one little problem:

Oklahoma juries seem to have a bad habit of regularly deciding against the wrong people. (See any of the books listed above.)
Labels: Barry Sheck, Bill Peterson, Dennis Fritz, Gary Rogers, John Grisham, Robert Mayer, Ron Williamson

Read Full story here by New York Crank here

John Grisham and Dennis Fritz Unite On A Journey Toward Justice

John Grisham, author of "The Innocent Man", published by "Doubleday Random House" and Dennis Fritz author of "Journey Toward Justice", published by "Seven Locks Press" Santa Ana, CA have a long term commitment to making appearances related to "the innocence movement" nationwide.
Grisham's first nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man" is a bestseller on Amazon worldwide. Dennis Fritz has his first book "Journey Toward Justice" on Amazon and is a bestseller worldwide.

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, is a chronicle of the Oklahoma case that resulted in the wrongful conviction of former minor-league baseball player Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. Once asked whether his book is a kind of social activism, he says: "When I researched and wrote the book, it was impossible not to become indignant and infuriated. And that becomes an activism in itself."

Journey Toward Justice: Dennis Fritz tells his side of the story of his unwarranted prosecution and wrongful conviction, that changed his life and a small community forever. Dennis Fritz was tried and convicted on non-existent evidence, the false testimony of jailhouse snitches, faulty forensics work and suppressed evidence.

Together and Separately they attend many fundraising events and appear on Television and Radio Talk Shows. I heard May 22 both John Grisham and Dennis Fritz will be on Dateline.

Grisham spoke Thursday May 10th at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center, In Kansas City for an Innocence Project fundraiser. The Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing legal aid to prisoners "with persuasive actual innocence claims" in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska,Iowa, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Sponsors were the Midwestern Innocence Project, the McKellar Group and Rainy Day Books.

Grisham discussed his recent nonfiction book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town.This chronicled the Oklahoma case that resulted in the wrongful convictions of former minor-league baseball player Ron Williamson who was sentenced to die. Ron died of cirrhosis in December 2004, five years after being freed.

Thursday in an interview with The Kansas City Star, author John Grisham said the death penalty in the United States should be "abolished forever". He also said it is his personal view that the death penalty is immoral. Grisham realizes that the most powerful argument against the death penalty is that it kills the innocent as well as the guilty, a case that he makes simply by telling Williamson and Fritz's story. He also discussed Ron Williamson's friend Dennis Fritz. Dennis Fritz got life in prison. Both were exonerated after spending years in prison.

Dennis Fritz also works with the Innocence Project in Kansas City, Missouri. He makes appearances related to "the innocence movement" nationwide. He is using a book he recently published, "Journey Toward Justice", as a vehicle to bring awareness of the overall, devastating effects of how false convictions can destroy people's lives and how mistakes can be made in cases. He travels the United States speaking to law schools and also hopes to reach prosecutors and judges.

Here is what Barry Scheck from The Innocence Project says about Dennis Fritz's book Journey Toward Justice:
There have been one hundred eighty-one post-conviction DNA exonerations in America. The exonerated and their families are the heart and soul of this movement. There is no more decent and dignified a man, nor a more gentle soul, than Dennis Fritz. He has had the fortitude to tell his whole story. As always, I am in awe of his courage and humbled by his efforts.- Barry C. Scheck The Innocence Project

Book Excerpt From Journey Toward Justice Author Dennis Fritz

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

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

From Library Journal November 01, 2006 Dennis Fritz's Journey Toward Justice

Library Journal (Wednesday, November 01, 2006)
In April 1999, Fritz walked out of court a free man after spending 11 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. He maintained his innocence from day one against the pressure of detectives, prosecutors, the judge, and the jury. The tide began to turn after Barry Scheck's Innocence Project took on his case. While the blow-by-blow descriptions of Fritz's arrest, hearing, trial, and prison life can be tedious, this book is hard to put down. Readers will keep wondering when someone is going to listen to Fritz and do the right thing, but in the meantime it's almost like watching a train wreck in slow motion. In the process of sharing his story, Fritz comes across as truly remarkable and resilient. The only thing missing from the book is the story of his life since his release. Did the prosecutor and detectives express any remorse? What of the details of the real murderer's conviction? And how has the victim's family fared? There should be plenty of buzz for this book as John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" (not available for advance review), which tells the story of Fritz's also-exonerated codefendant, Ron Williamson, is due to be released at the same time. Recommended.Karen Sandlin Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

On Amazon Here

The Innocence Project Contact List

Innocence Projects provide representation and/or investigative assistance to prison inmates who claim to be innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. There is now at least one innocence project serving each state except Hawaii, North Dakota and South Dakota. Most of these innocence projects are new and overwhelmed with applications, so waiting time between application and acceptance is long. Wrongfully convicted persons should not be dissuaded from applying to Innocence Projects because of this, but should have realistic expectations regarding acceptance and time lags.

Innocence Projects Contact List USA - Canada - Australia

A Book Recommendation : The Companion Book To John Grisham's, The Innocent Man is Dennis Fritz's Book Called "Journey Toward Justice" now on Amazon Here.

The Beginning of My Journey

Jan. 2006 - Well I just read " Journey Toward Justice " by Dennis Fritz - Publisher Seven Locks Press. Now a Bestseller on Amazon Here and it was excellent. I can tell you about it, but I will show you what some critics say.

Praise For:
Journey Toward Justice By: Dennis Fritz
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

There have been one hundred eighty-one post-conviction DNA exonerations in America . The exonerated and their families are the heart and soul of this movement. There is no more decent and dignified a man, nor a more gentle soul, than Dennis Fritz. He has had the fortitude to tell his whole story. As always, I am in awe of his courage and humbled by his efforts.
-Barry C. Scheck The Innocence Project

Overzealous prosecutors led justice astray as their lust for an unjustified conviction of two innocent men caused a bizarre nightmare to unfold and greatly affect the judicial integrity of our legal justice system.
- Judge Donald McCartin Retired Superior Court JudgeThe Hanging judge of Orange County , CA ,who sentenced nine men to death row

Within the first pages of Journey Toward Justice , Dennis Fritz grabs the reader's attention. His vivid descriptions recall memories of a time when Ada was stunned by the brutal murder of a young woman. At last, Mr. Fritz tells his side of an event that changed his life and this small community forever.
-Brenda Tollett Ada Evening News

Riveting and provocative-a heartfelt journey about truth, determination and justice.
-Stephanie Esposito Producer, Court TV documentary Stories of the Innocence Project: Broken Words

This heartbreaking and true story is a must-read for anyone interested in the perversion of justice.
-Alexandra Pelosi HBO Documentary Films Director Former NBC Dateline producer Attended exoneration

Dennis's book is simultaneously entertaining and horrifying. Journey Toward Justice is a story of great impact and great importance.
-Mark Barrett Defense Attorney

Nobody wants to believe our courts are capable of serious and tragic mistakes, let alone systemic corruption. But the evidence suggests that while most people in law enforcement operate decently, others repeatedly place conviction rates above justice. Journey Toward Justice , one innocent man's story, reads like a detective story, with numerous twists and turns, racing toward a conclusion.
Not only does it offer an authentic sense of life in prison, it should serve as an admonition to anyone who serves on a jury:
Take the "beyond a reasonable doubt" with deadly seriousness, and don't allow yourself to be railroaded.
- Alan W. Bock Senior Editorial Writer Orange County Register Author, Waiting to Inhale

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS!
Dennis Fritz's "Journey" exposes serious potholes and detours in the convoluted road toward justice. It's an emotionally breathtaking ride you'll never forget.
- Don Lasseter True Crime Author

Journey Toward Justice clearly brings to fore the immense burden upon any civilized society to prove the guilt or innocence of its citizens beyond a reasonable doubt so that the framework of justice can prevail.
-Judge Issac Shimoni Vice President Central Court Jerusalem , Israel

Journey Toward Justice sheds a light on the grim reality that lurks in the shadows of the American justice system. This powerful saga spins a dramatic web of intrigue that is even more chilling because it is true. Were it not for Mr. Fritz's fortitude and the watchful work of The Innocence Project, this innocent man would still be rotting in jail.
-Margaret Burk Founder, Round Table WestThe largest book club on the West Coast

Journey Toward Justice is a classic example of how real life can be stranger and more frightening than fiction. Dennis Fritz's tale of the true life nightmare visited on him by often-times corrupt and other-times incompetent law enforcement officials will frighten the reader more than any novel can.
-Joseph Badal Author, The Pythagorean Solution , Terror Cell

"Journey Toward Justice" Memoir by Dennis Fritz - Seven Locks Press, Santa Ana, Ca
On Amazon Here