The true, bewildering story of a young woman’s disappearance, the nightmare of a small town obsessed with delivering justice, and the bizarre dream of a poor, uneducated man accused of murder—a case that chillingly parallels the one, occurring in the very same town, chronicled by John Grisham in The Innocent Man.
On April 28, 1984, Denice Haraway disappeared from her job at a convenience store on the outskirts of Ada, Oklahoma, and the sleepy town erupted. Tales spread of rape, mutilation, and murder, and the police set out on a relentless mission to bring someone to justice. Six months later, two local men—Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot—were arrested and brought to trial, even though they repudiated their “confessions,” no body had been found, no weapon had been produced, and no eyewitnesses had come forward. The Dreams of Ada is a story of politics and morality, of fear and obsession. It is also a moving, compelling portrait of one small town living through a nightmare.
This is the TRUE story of two men unjustly put in jail for life for a murder they did not commit. It is not the first time the district attorney has done this. Before you read this, and be sure to read it, pick up John Grisham's book The Innocent Man. It's about 2 more men who were convicted of murder too - by the same D.A. BOTH BOOKS ARE MUST READS.
This is one of the most incredible stories I have ever read. I would take it for fiction if I didn't know it wasn't.
The story of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot is fraught with tragedy and human error. Overzealous prosecutors, shoddy police work, too much reliance on one line of evidence (fake confessions), and incompetent yet highly paid defense attorneys all combined to spell doom for two men who never should have been on trial to begin with.
What Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot needed was a hero. As misfortune would have it, there was none. Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz had Mark Barrett and Barry Scheck. Ward and Fontenot had no one.
Barrett and Scheck worked tirelessly to prove the innocence of Williamson and Fritz, even long after their sentences. Ultimately, they were successful, and became heroes that stood up against corrupt justice and beat it back. But Ward and Fontenot have had no such luck.
If there is a hero in "The Dreams of Ada" it is defense investigator Richard Kerner. His findings helped unearth alternative theories as to how Denice Haraway died, and who killed her, and even provided the only concrete evidence in the case, photographs of Ward and Fontenot that should have proven exculpatory but for whatever reason were disregarded by the jury.
The surprising villian, in a story loaded with them, is jury foreman Leslie Penn. I won't give away too much more of the story, but it is truly a Greek tragedy in Oklahoma, albeit a riveting one. Had this story had a happy ending, I'd have given it 5 stars.
This is a great follow-up to Grisham's "An Innocent Man". This true story is very well told to the point where it will haunt you just as Grisham's non-fiction piece from the same town and the same investigators. You will be disappointed with this author. Robert Mayer weaves the story as only a true proessional could. Very powerful expose on the Ada, Oaklahoma system of justice.
