Denniz Fritz
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Radio: Bio of Dennis Fritz
December 3, 2006
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Dennis Fritz was an ordinary man living an ordinary life in Ada, Oklahoma. A school teacher whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975, Dennis was raising his young daughter on his own. On the fateful evening of May 8, 1987, Dennis was enveloped by a sudden foreboding sensation. He could not explain the eerie feeling in his gut—the sense that something is about to happen. Two hours later, he was under arrest, handcuffed and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder.
From the outset the evidence against Dennis and his eccentric friend, Ron Williamson, in the murder of Debbie Sue Carter were non-conclusive. An overzealous prosecutor, intent on winning, relied on flimsy circumstantial data to create the illusion of guilt. Distorted statements, questionable testimony of a jailhouse informant, faulty hair evidence, dream confessions and other bizarre clues completed the prosecution’s circle of deception.
Dennis was convicted after a swift trial. The vote of a single juror saved him from the death penalty and he was sentenced to life behind bars. His co-defendant, Ronnie Williamson, was sentenced to death.
In prison, Dennis immediately immersed himself in an intense study of the law and wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense—hoping against hope that someone would take an interest in his case. It was a tortuous journey, but Dennis was relentless. After ten desperate years he discovered the Innocence Project, a non-profit legal organization devoted to exonerate the wrongfully convicted through post-conviction DNA testing. With the aid of Barry Scheck and irrefutable DNA evidence, Dennis and Ron were exonerated. The real killer, who turned out to be one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, was finally brought to justice. On April 15, 1999, after twelve years of wrongful imprisonment, Dennis and Ron were free men. Their long journey toward justice was finally over.
-- Bio provided by Seven Locks Press
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