The Man No One Believed: The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders

In 1985, a white man walked into a South Georgia church and brutally murdered Harold and Thelma Swain, two pillars of the area’s Black community. The killer vanished into the night. For fifteen years, the case remained unsolved. Then authorities zeroed in on Dennis Perry, a carpenter who grew up nearby. Convicted with devastatingly flawed evidence, Perry received a double life sentence.When award-winning journalist and South Georgia native Joshua Sharpe retraces the case, he discovers a winding path of corruption, devastating missteps, and secrets. Driven by the pursuit of the truth, Sharpe’s investigation takes him through dusty courthouse archives, down winding dirt roads, and into intense interviews. But he keeps knocking on doors—even after they’re slammed in his face. Sharpe uncovers explosive evidence that helps prove Dennis Perry’s innocence. And he confronts a long-ignored suspect: an alleged white supremacist who had bragged about committing the murders.

Sharpe, a native of Waycross, Georgia, practices Journalism with a capital J.--Amanda Heckert "Garden & Gun"

[A] gripping, infuriating, and enlightening work of true crime whose real-world impact can be felt on every page.-- "Publishers Weekly"

A skillfully constructed spiderweb of a true-crime, cold-case narrative.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

A riveting page-turner about miscarried justice, an insightful journey to a fascinating time and place, and a triumphant tale about the search for truth in our tangled legal system. With his tireless reporting, Joshua Sharpe shines a light that not even the dark waters of the Okefenokee can obscure.--Thomas Mullen, author of Darktown

Every wrong that is righted, like the one at the center of this story, brings us closer to living up to the promise of freedom. The Man No One Believed takes you into a battle for the truth, and inside the forces threatened by the very idea of justice--Joshua Sharpe offers us a chronicle from the beating heart of America. This is essential reading if you want to understand who we are and how we got here.--Wright Thompson, best-selling author of The Barn and Pappyland