1994 — Ron Williamson gives an interview in prison five years after his conviction, saying that he thinks Ricky Jo Simmons committed the crime. The jail psychologist initially dismisses this as an alter ego of Williamson (he suffered from mental health problems). Although it's later proven that Simmons didn't kill Debbie, Williamson never wavers in asserting his innocence.
1994 to 1999 — Fritz tries to appeal his sentencing multiple times, but is denied. He later contacts the Innocence Project for help, which puts him on the radar of author John Grisham (who went on to write The Innocent Man about the case). During these years it is discovered that the physical evidence from the crime is going to be tested due to appeals filed by Williamson's legal team, so Fritz files an injunction to ensure the evidence will not be consumed until the cases are joined and proper DNA testing is conducted.
Spring 1999 — New DNA evidence comes to light, suggesting Fritz and Williamson didn't actually kill Debbie Carter. It turns out that the FBI spent decades overestimating the importance of hair in cases like this. For example, the analyst who testified in Fritz's trial about the hair — it's impossible to say definitively that strands of hair "match" because there's not enough empirical data regarding the frequency of specific class characteristics in human hair. On top of that, DNA testing reveals neither Fritz or Williamson are a match for the sperm found at the crime scene.
April 15, 1999 — Both Williamson and Fritz are set free and exonerated of their crimes. Williamson was within 5 days of being executed.
2003 — Williamson and Fritz sue the City of Ada and win a settlement of $500,000, but note that both felt many residents of the town still believed them to be guilty despite their freedom. They were also scared that the prosecutor, Bill Peterson, and members of the Ada police force would try to bring them to trial again.
2009 — Williamson, who continued to suffer from psychiatric problems, dies in his nursing home of cirrhosis at the age of 51. Fritz is still alive, but now lives in a nursing home due to a traumatic brain injury he received after getting into a near-fatal car accident. He regularly spends time with his loving daughter, Elizabeth Clinton, who visits him as much as she can.