The Guardians

Guardian Ministries files the petition for post-conviction relief with the Florida courts on Quincy’s behalf. The 54-page document includes (among other things): the expert testimony from Dr. Benderschmidt; testimony from another expert, a criminologist Dr. Tobias Black; and the affidavits from Carrie Holland/Pruit, Zeke Huffey, and James Rhoad (June Walker’s ex-husband). The document also uses documents obtained via the Freedom of Information Act to criticize Sheriff Pfitzner’s investigation and highlights the lack of hard evidence against Quincy.

The petition for post-conviction relief marks a turning point in the book: “For the past three months, our work has been done as quietly as possible. If the men who killed Keith Russo know we’re digging, we’re not aware of it. This changes when we file our petition” (160). Shortly after the filing, Guardian Ministries gets an anonymous message via an online messaging platform, From Under Patty’s Porch, telling them to look into the shooting of Kenny Taft, the deputy sheriff who was supposedly killed in a shoot-out with a gang a couple months after Quincy was locked away. The message suggests Kenny wasn’t really shot by a drug dealer, saying “maybe he knew too much” (164).