DENVER—Oklahoma investigators and a prosecutor have lost a bid to revive their lawsuit over books written about two men wrongfully convicted of a 1982 slaying in Ada, Okla.
Oklahoma Pontotoc County District Attorney William Peterson, former Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation investigator Gary Rogers and Melvin Hett, a criminalist, said the books defamed them and inflicted emotional distress, among other things.
The books, including Grisham’s 2006 nonfiction work, “The Innocent Man,” chronicle the slaying of Debbie Sue Carter and wrongful convictions of Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson. Williamson came within five days of execution before being exonerated by DNA.
A three-judge panel of the court says that given that the three are public officials, they face an especially heavy burden in proving their case.
