Officials React to Ada Case Featured on Dateline NBC
Tuesday night, Dateline NBC aired "The Accused." It's the story of two Ada men wrongfully accused of murdering a woman in 1982. After the program aired, the city of Ada began receiving vicious emails from viewers around the country. KTEN's Andrea Kurys reports.
The true story of Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson was picked up by author John Grisham, who based it on his first non-fiction novel titled, 'The Innocent Man.'
Following DNA testing, the men were exhonerated after spending years in prison for a crime they never commited. When Grisham's book was released last year, many law enforcement and city officials said the author had failed to do his homework. They said the storyline was not accurate, the reporting was one-sided and the facts were skewed.
Dateline's program last night stirred up a fresh wave of hate mail directed at Ada officials. Mark Bratcher, spokesperson for the city, says everyone involved in the case years ago did their job. He says the messages are unfounded. "The people who wrote the angry and misguided messages...perhaps that makes them feel better or maybe they're defending one of their favorite authors," he said. "But it doesn't really mean that much to us."
Bill Peterson, Pontotoc County District Attorney, started a website in response to Grisham's book. On the website, he displays letters to and from gGrisham, editorials, and facts explaining what he says are fabrications and inaccuracies in grisham's novel. He states the website's intention is so people can read both sides of the story and see the bias, spin and intentional mistakes Grisham made in his book.
If you would like to learn more, you can visit Peterson's website at www.billpetersondistrictattorney.com.
Andrea Kurys, KTEN News.