Jumia Books The Man No One Believed: The Untold Story of the Georgia Church Murders by Joshua Sharpe

The Man No One Believed by investigative journalist Joshua Sharpe is a chilling and meticulously reported true crime narrative that exposes the cracks in America’s justice system. Centered around the 1985 double murder of Harold and Thelma Swain—respected members of a Black church community in South Georgia—the book unravels a decades-long mystery that culminates in a wrongful conviction and a journalist’s fight to set the record straight.

Sharpe recounts how the killer, a white man, entered the church and shot the couple in cold blood before vanishing into the night. For fifteen years, the case remained unsolved. Then, authorities arrested Dennis Perry, a local carpenter, based on flimsy and circumstantial evidence. Perry was convicted and sentenced to two life terms, despite glaring inconsistencies and a lack of physical proof.

Driven by a deep sense of justice and personal connection to the region, Sharpe retraces the investigation, uncovering:

Flawed police work and prosecutorial shortcuts

Racial bias and community trauma

Overlooked witnesses and suppressed evidence

The power of journalism to challenge institutional failure

Sharpe’s reporting takes readers through dusty archives, tense interviews, and courtroom drama, revealing how truth can be buried—and how it can be unearthed. His writing is both empathetic and relentless, honoring the victims while advocating for the wrongly accused.

This book is ideal for:

Fans of Serial, Making a Murderer, and The Innocent Man

Readers interested in criminal justice reform and investigative journalism

East African legal scholars and journalists exploring parallels in wrongful convictions and media accountability