An Examination of Wrongful Convictions in America

This Information is from Friends of Peltier.

Event: An Examination of Wrongful Convictions in America

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is pleased to invite you to "Innocence Week: An Examination of Wrongful Convictions in America," to be held at American University’s Washington College of Law from March 26 through March 30.

The week will feature a series of engaging luncheon panels, which will include Dennis Fritz, whose case was featured in John Grisham’s most recent book, and Kirk Bloodsworth, who was sentenced to death in Maryland for a crime he did not commit.

Innocence Week will culminate in two performances of The Exonerated, a critically acclaimed play about the experiences of six individuals who were sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit.

To purchase tickets or to reserve space at the luncheons, please call (202) 274-4075 or email secle@wcl.american.edu.

.Peltier supporters in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area may wish to attend. This will be a friendly venue and an opportunity for you to educate people about the Peltier case.

More Information From The Mid Atlantic Innocence Project:
All lectures are free and open to the public. Monday's panel will consist of Washington College of Law criminal law professors in a discussion of how a truly innocent person can be wrongly convicted in the American system of justice. Tuesday's luncheon will feature Detective Jim Trainum of the DC Metropolitan Police Department, Tim O'Toole of the DC Public Defender Service, and MAIP Executive Director Shawn Armbrust discussing eyewitness misidentification and false confessions. On Wednesday, we will have a special presentation and book-signing by Kirk Bloodsworth, a Maryland man who was wrongly convicted of a brutal rape and murder and who spent several years on death row before his exoneration. He will be accompanied by Tim Junkin, who wrote a book about his case, and John Terzano, the Executive Director of The Justice Project. Finally, on Thursday, we will hear from two men, including Dennis Fritz, who were wrongly convicted and eventually exonerated after spending many years in prison. Mr. Fritz will sign copies of his new book following the luncheon.

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Death penalties don't mean justice by -- FOR the young farmer, the decision came too late. If China's Supreme People's Court had retrieved the right to review the death penalty earlier, 20-year-old Nie Shubin, who was executed as a scapegoat, might...

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The Jailhouse Snitch The Innocence Project Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson

In 1982, high school science teacher Dennis Fritz was living near Ada, Okla., raising his 8-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, whose mother had been murdered by a deranged neighbor when Elizabeth was 2 years old. Fritz frequently visited Ada, where he befriended Ron Williamson a tall, lanky local who suffered from mental disorders. The two would often play guitar together and then go out to local bars. One of the places they frequented was the Coachlight Club.

On Dec. 8, 1982, Debra Sue Carter, a waitress at the Coachlight Club, was found raped and murdered in her apartment. A witness, Glen Gore, came forward to say that Williamson was at the bar bothering Carter on the night of the murder. Fritz, due to his association with Williamson, also came under suspicion. Fritz and Williamson were both questioned by police and then released due to lack of evidence.

A few years later, with no one yet charged for the murder, a jailhouse snitch came forward and claimed that Williamson, while in jail on unrelated charges, had confessed to killing Carter. On May 8, 1987, Fritz was arrested along with Williamson for the rape and murder. The police claimed that hair evidence from the crime scene that had been microscopically analyzed matched both men. While Fritz was awaiting trial in county jail, other snitches claimed that they heard Fritz confess to the crime.

The snitches' testimony, along with the hair samples, were the prosecution's main evidence during trial.
On April 12, 1988, Fritz was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Williamson, as the primary suspect, was sent to Death Row.
After several appeals of his conviction were denied, Fritz contacted The Innocence Project At the time, Williamson's public defenders had successfully gained permission to perform DNA tests on the physical evidence, and Fritz had to file an injunction so that the evidence would not be totally consumed in the tests on Williamson's behalf. In 1999, DNA testing revealed that neither Fritz nor Williamson had raped the victim. Further testing also proved that none of the hairs belonged to either of the men.

Fritz and Williamson were exonerated and released on April 15, 1999. The profile obtained from the semen evidence matched Glen Gore, the state's main witness at trial. Gore had been serving three 40-year sentences for unrelated charges of first-degree burglary, kidnapping, and shooting with intent to injure. In April 2002, Gore was charged with the rape and murder of Debra Sue Carter; he pled not guilty.

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Forward This Message On Whether Or Not You Support The Death Penalty

From The Justice Project:
For every seven executions conducted in the last 25 years, one innocent person has been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death. Regardless of whether or not you support the death penalty, we can all agree that the execution of an innocent person would be "the ultimate nightmare."That's why we wanted to let you know about The Justice Project, an organization that is fighting to prevent the execution of innocent persons by enacting real reforms around the administration of capital punishment in our criminal justice system. By taking just a few minutes to visit The Justice Project web site [http://www.thejusticeproject.org/], you can join the ranks of thousands of Americans -- including people who are in favor of and opposed to the death penalty -- working together to ensure that everyone has access to competent legal counsel and that no one is denied the opportunity to present facts that could prove their innocence. You can also help by forwarding this message on to others who believe it's time for common sense reforms in our death penalty system. Your time and support can help ensure that not one more innocent person is forced to spend his or her life waiting to die because the criminal justice system is broken.Please visit www.TheJusticeProject.org.today.
Thank you
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