Summary

In Chapter 8, Ron’s trial was assigned to Judge Ronald Jones. Judge Jones was a devout Christian and believed strongly in the death penalty. Ron’s mental instability continued to cause disruptions in court. One day, a young drug addict named Ricky Joe Simmons falsely claimed to have murdered Debbie Carter. The police ignored him, but Ron became obsessed with the idea of Ricky Joe Simmons being the murderer. Barney again tried to have Ron’s case dismissed on the grounds of mental incompetency, but the motion was again denied.

Dennis Fritz’s preliminary hearings began. Bill Peterson was the prosecutor for that trial as well, and he also used false testimonies from inmates as evidence. When Fritz’s trial began, Peterson called Glen Gore as a witness. Peterson focused on establishing a connection between Fritz and Ron. At first, Peterson’s witnesses generally...