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
Showing posts with label john grisham lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label john grisham lawsuit. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, October 8, 2007
John Grisham "The Appeal" Legal Thriller
Grisham's next legal thriller has been titled as "The Appeal"
John Grisham’s upcoming 384-page legal thriller that will be released for sale on January 29, 2008, has been titled as “The Appeal.”
In an interview to Des Moines Register, Grisham said the fictional book, set in Mississippi, will focus on the election of state Supreme Court judges.
“It’s a real political hotbed issue right now,” he said. “And these races have become just rotten with special-interest groups, cash and judges taking huge campaign donations from lawyers and parties with cases pending before the court.”
“It’s turned into a terrible system, and I hope to bring some attention to that issue.”
Source: Random House, Des Moines Register
Looks like 2008 will be THE year full of legal thrillers for John Grisham, with "The Innocent Man" lawsuit, and his new book "The Appeal."
For those who do not know John Grisham has been named in a libel lawsuit filed over his nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man". The book is about the 1982 murder of Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Oklahoma.
At the center of the lawsuit is an Oklahoma prosecutor by the name of William N. Peterson. He 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 Fritz's, "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 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.
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 and the detective.
"There's no merit," to the suit, James C. Riordan says. The reason his book published two days before Grisham's was competitive.
Comment from Dennis Fritz, author of "Journey Toward Justice".
“The problem is that Mr. Peterson convicted two innocent men, sent Ronnie and I to the penitentiary for 12 years, based upon alleged evidence that did not go beyond a reasonable doubt." Fritz said the lawsuit is merely a power play by Peterson “to regain what he has lost because of his actions, or mis-actions.”
“He cannot handle the truth that’s been brought out in both Mr. Grisham’s book as well as mine. Dennis Fritz said every word in his book is true as he remembered the events of that time.
“Factually, it’s backed up exactly by every word out of the transcript,” he said. Fritz said that Peterson achieved their convictions through “several huge mistakes, worse than mistakes, travesties of justice.”
I will have updates on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice here
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. Click here for more on story
John Grisham’s upcoming 384-page legal thriller that will be released for sale on January 29, 2008, has been titled as “The Appeal.”
In an interview to Des Moines Register, Grisham said the fictional book, set in Mississippi, will focus on the election of state Supreme Court judges.
“It’s a real political hotbed issue right now,” he said. “And these races have become just rotten with special-interest groups, cash and judges taking huge campaign donations from lawyers and parties with cases pending before the court.”
“It’s turned into a terrible system, and I hope to bring some attention to that issue.”
Source: Random House, Des Moines Register
Looks like 2008 will be THE year full of legal thrillers for John Grisham, with "The Innocent Man" lawsuit, and his new book "The Appeal."
For those who do not know John Grisham has been named in a libel lawsuit filed over his nonfiction book, "The Innocent Man". The book is about the 1982 murder of Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Oklahoma.
At the center of the lawsuit is an Oklahoma prosecutor by the name of William N. Peterson. He 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 Fritz's, "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 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.
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 and the detective.
"There's no merit," to the suit, James C. Riordan says. The reason his book published two days before Grisham's was competitive.
Comment from Dennis Fritz, author of "Journey Toward Justice".
“The problem is that Mr. Peterson convicted two innocent men, sent Ronnie and I to the penitentiary for 12 years, based upon alleged evidence that did not go beyond a reasonable doubt." Fritz said the lawsuit is merely a power play by Peterson “to regain what he has lost because of his actions, or mis-actions.”
“He cannot handle the truth that’s been brought out in both Mr. Grisham’s book as well as mine. Dennis Fritz said every word in his book is true as he remembered the events of that time.
“Factually, it’s backed up exactly by every word out of the transcript,” he said. Fritz said that Peterson achieved their convictions through “several huge mistakes, worse than mistakes, travesties of justice.”
I will have updates on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice here
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. Click here for more on story
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
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
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
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Dennis Fritz Responds To Lawsuit Author of Journey Toward Justice
“The problem is that Mr. Peterson convicted two innocent men, sent Ronnie and I to the penitentiary for 12 years, based upon alleged evidence that did not go beyond a reasonable doubt.”Fritz said the lawsuit is merely a power play by Peterson “to regain what he has lost because of his actions, or mis-actions.”“He cannot handle the truth that’s been brought out in both Mr. Grisham’s book as well as mine. Dennis Fritz said every word in his book is true as he remembered the events of that time.
“Factually, it’s backed up exactly by every word out of the transcript,” he said.
Fritz said that Peterson achieved their convictions through “several huge mistakes, worse than mistakes, travesties of justice.”
“He doesn’t want to face the truth, really, of what happened,” he said. “He wants to try to make everybody believe that, in fact, he has not done anything wrong.”
I just want to say every word, every part of my book, is 100 percent factual." Fritz said from his home.
District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, have named Grisham, Fritz and several others in a lawsuit.
The two men, Peterson and Rogers were involved in the arrest and prosecution and wrongful conviction of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, in the murder of cocktail waitress Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Okla. Williamson and Fritz were freed after 12 years in prison, exonerated by DNA evidence.
Grisham's, "The Innocent Man" and Fritz's ,"Journey Toward Justice" chronicled the history of the case and the experiences of the two men.
A movie based on Grisham's book focusing on Ron Williamson's life reportedly is in the works with George Clooney producing it.
Gary Richardson the attorney for Peterson is quoted in Tulsa World News as saying "Hopefully, they'll make more money so we'll have more to go after them on." he said laughing.
“Factually, it’s backed up exactly by every word out of the transcript,” he said.
Fritz said that Peterson achieved their convictions through “several huge mistakes, worse than mistakes, travesties of justice.”
“He doesn’t want to face the truth, really, of what happened,” he said. “He wants to try to make everybody believe that, in fact, he has not done anything wrong.”
I just want to say every word, every part of my book, is 100 percent factual." Fritz said from his home.
District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, have named Grisham, Fritz and several others in a lawsuit.
The two men, Peterson and Rogers were involved in the arrest and prosecution and wrongful conviction of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, in the murder of cocktail waitress Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Okla. Williamson and Fritz were freed after 12 years in prison, exonerated by DNA evidence.
Grisham's, "The Innocent Man" and Fritz's ,"Journey Toward Justice" chronicled the history of the case and the experiences of the two men.
A movie based on Grisham's book focusing on Ron Williamson's life reportedly is in the works with George Clooney producing it.
Gary Richardson the attorney for Peterson is quoted in Tulsa World News as saying "Hopefully, they'll make more money so we'll have more to go after them on." he said laughing.
Friday, September 28, 2007
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
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
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