In these fraught times of overheated political debate, it’s hard to believe we can still find decency and common courtesy in a public forum. However, that was my experience last Saturday when I led a town hall-style event in La Porte, Indiana, about my book, Submerged. Given the extreme accusations that greeted the event when it was posted on local Facebook group pages, people warned me not to attend or that I needed security guards. Many of the most vitriolic predicted no one would show up, perhaps believing they had scared everyone away.
But despite all the fire online, the La Porte Yacht Club, where we met, had standing room only, and might have had more there if all the nearby parking spots hadn’t been filled. Obviously, my book has been very controversial in the community. It’s about the 1993 murder of 16-year-old Rayna Rison. Although her brother-in-law, Ray McCarty, was indicted for the crime in 1998 (he had been convicted for molesting her three years earlier and was reported to be assaulting her again), the charges were dropped in 1999. In 2013, her middle school boyfriend, Jason Tibbs, was arrested and convicted a year later. In Submerged, I uncover new evidence that conclusively incriminates Ray and reveal the misconduct that led to Jason’s wrongful conviction.
Rayna’s family and friends continue to defend Ray and demonize Jason. Although I had books to sell and sold many, my main goal was to present all the new evidence I had found, including spoilers for future readers. Among those in attendance was Rayna’s younger sister, one of my online critics. But she politely heard me out and then raised her hand with a question to stump me about a piece of evidence I don’t believe to be significant. But I had no problem with that. In fact, I had prepared to respond to the attacks leveled against me on Facebook, and I was surprised that they never materialized. Instead, people came forward with new information about Ray’s involvement in the crime, which they wanted me to pursue.
When we hear about the wrongfully convicted, we think about the years they have been kept from society. However, their friends and loved ones also suffer from the injustice. Children are not just deprived of a father. They can also be ridiculed or ostracized by their classmates’ parents. With that in mind, I was most pleased that Jason’s children could attend the event, not just to hear what I said about their father’s innocence but also to see the acceptance of what I had found in their community.