Writer John Grisham, known for his fictional murder mystery stories, has been named in a libel suit over a non-fiction book he wrote about a 1982 murder.

The lawsuit, filed in Tulsa, Okla. on Friday, seeks more than $75,000 as well as a jury trial.

Author John Grisham, seen in this 2006 photo, is named in a libel lawsuit filed over a non-fiction book he wrote about the 1982 murder of an Oklahoma cocktail waitress. Author John Grisham, seen in this 2006 photo, is named in a libel lawsuit filed over a non-fiction book he wrote about the 1982 murder of an Oklahoma cocktail waitress.
(Tina Fineberg/Associated Press)

District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, have named Grisham and several others in the suit.

The two men were involved in the arrest and prosecution of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz for the murder of cocktail waitress Debbie Sue Carter in Ada, Okla.  Williamson and Fritz were freed after 12 years in prison, exonerated by DNA evidence.

Grisham's The Innocent Man and Fritz's Journey Toward Justice chronicled the history of the case and the experiences of the two men.

Doubleday, Grisham's publisher, has refused to comment on the suit.  Grisham, who wrote the bestselling blockbusters The Firm and The Client, did not release any comments either.

'It has no merit. We simply told the truth.'—Dennis Fritz

Grisham is a board member of the Innocence Project, an organization devoted to examining the cases of wrongfully convicted people.

"It's nothing more than a power play to get people to believe [Peterson] did nothing wrong," said Fritz, who is also named in the suit.

"It has no merit. We simply told the truth and I have a right to write what my thoughts were."

Also named are Robert Mayer, author of The Dreams of Ada, Barry Scheck, Fritz's former lawyer and author of Actual Innocence, and Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, among others.
  
The lawsuit states the defendants conspired to commit libel against the plaintiffs, generate publicity for self interest by placing them in a false light and intentionally inflict emotional distress upon them.
 
It claims "the defendants launched this attack through the use of speeches, interviews and simultaneously publishing three books that were all three strategically released in October of 2006."

With files from the Associated Press