A federal judge in Muskogee overturned Fontenot's conviction in late 2019. Ward was featured in the Netflix documentary and John Grisham book An Innocent Man. Ward along with Karl Fontenot were convicted of killing Denice Haraway back in the 1980s. News 9s Barry Mangold will have more on the story on News 9 at 10 p.m. Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News on 6 delivered right to your inbox! He is 54 years old and is being held at the at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in Oklahoma. John Grisham continues to correspond with both men. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. Tommy Ward, who was convicted twice for the 1984 kidnapping and murder of Ada convenience store clerk Donna "Denise" Haraway, had his conviction and life sentence overturned and was ordered to. John 3:16. Tommy Ward one of the subjects of Netflix's true-crime docuseries "The Innocent Man," who was convicted of abduction, rape and the murder of an Oklahoma woman is to be released from . Read: Attorney General's Office Appeals Ruling That Would Vacate Sentence Of Tommy Ward, In Tuesdays filing, attorneys representing Ward argued the district judges ruling was fair and reasonable and echoed the judge that the withheld evidence creates a reasonable probability that the outcome would be different.. Ward is a hardworking and dedicated artist who continues to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Ive never been in jail or had a police record in my life and no one in my face telling me Id killed a pretty woman, that Im going to get the death penalty, so I told them the story hoping they would leave me alone. Both are model prisoners. The Oklahoma attorney generals office, which appealed Inges order, declined to comment on Thursdays ruling. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. Tommy Ward is still behind bars waiting for an appeal. Fight for his release from jail crime Netflix Series was released back in 2018, and temporary. More to come. The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tommy Ward, 60, to remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower courts ruling that he be released. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim's blouse, which prosecutors said he had described. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The organization has not offered an update on the status of their efforts. This contradicted the confessions, which stated that Haraway had been stabbed to death. "They said I had a choice to write it or tape it. These dream confessions came after hours of interrogation by Ada police and state agents desperate to solve the disappearance of Haraway in 1984, just two years after the unsolved rape and murder of another young woman in the small central Oklahoma town. Fontenot. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. The attorneys claim a trove of hundreds of new documents uncovered in a police storage room back up Fontenots claims of innocence. Position: WR Height: 6-0 Weight: 190 College: Rutgers Hometown: Canton, PA High School: Canton HS News 9s Barry Mangold will have more on the story on News 9 at 10 p.m. Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox! Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Both judges found the defendants constitutional rights were violated by police and prosecutors who until 2019 didnt turn over more than 300 pages of documents that would have helped the defendants. Ward and a co-defendant, Karl Fontenot, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the 1984 kidnapping and killing of Donna Denice Haraway, a convenience store clerk in Ada, Oklahoma. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has reinstated the murder conviction and life sentence of a man featured in the book and television series The Innocent Man.. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Prisoner seen in Netflixs The Innocent Man has conviction reinstated, refused to take up the case and to examine the states appeal, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, 50 cash with friend referrals at Virgin Mobile, 15% off extra plans with this Vodafone promo, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. Fontenots attorneys have argued that many of the inaccurate details of his confession were supplied by detectives from the Ada Police Department and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations. He is currently serving time at the Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy in Oklahoma. Oklahoma Attorney General's Office Appeals Release Of Tommy Ward. We cant do it without your support. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Fontenot's case was picked up by The Innocence Project in 2011, but there's . The 10th U.S. After the details of both mens confessions were proven untrue Haraways body was discovered years later in a different location and had been shot to death not stabbed as the pair had said a state appeals court ordered new trials. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. We are pressing forward exploring the possibility of going to federal court with additional appeals, Barrett said. The. The investigators seem to have taken on the role of prosecutor, judge and jury, determining that the only relevant evidence was evidence that fit their theory of the case.. But a Pontotoc County district judge ruled last month that prosecutors withheld key evidence in the case, including witness interviews and police reports, and ordered Wards release. At time of writing, he is still serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole, and is now 54 years old. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Release From Jail. It was later upheld when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the state's appeal. He's very disappointed that he's still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. Raising the same general categories on post-conviction that one raised on direct appeal, even if the basis is different, will result in a procedural bar," according to the state court's opinion. Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. The Official YouTube Channel of Tommy Ward. The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tommy Ward, 60, to remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower court's ruling that he be released. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. You can opt-out at any time. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! and his videos on social media have racked up millions of views. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. - BART TORRES, 99.7FM The Highway Vibe. Ward and a co-defendant, Karl Fontenot, were convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the 1984 kidnapping and killing of Donna Denice Haraway, a convenience store clerk in Ada, Oklahoma. Justices should reject the states request to review the case because the evidence in this case qualifies as new evidence of actual innocence under any definition of new evidence, Fontenots lawyers argued. Tommy Ward is a critically acclaimed singer and entertainer from Las Vegas who has a deep love and appreciation for legendary musicians and crooners. And Mr. Fontenot has also established that evidence suppressed by the State prior to his new trial in 1988 led to a violation of his constitutional right to due process., More:Human remains found, Oklahoma white supremacist leader might be connected. Ward remains in prison as the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals weighs his case. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. 2022 Reader's Choice Winners . He reminds me of working with Frank Sinatra in some strange way." Appears the state will retry Karl Fontenot, who was released 2 years ago and subject of #netflix special. More:Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. She was 24. More damningly, Haraway had not been been stabbed as the young men had described. Also Read: 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. After Haraways remains were found in 1986 in rural Hughes County, forensic analysis showed that many of the details in Fontenots and Wards confessions were wrong. The judge found Tommy Ward didnt get a fair trial. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. She said police and prosecutors withheld evidence that would have assisted Wards defense. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. Fontenot is free on bond as the appeals process plays out. Breaking news: Judge orders Tommy released and vacates his conviction. The Attorney Generals office claims in its filing that Fontenot and Ward attempted to minimize their involvement in Haraways death during their confessions by saying the primary aggressor was another man who was never charged with the crime. The young woman's disappearance sparked decades of controversy as police scrambled to solve the crime, leading to the convictions of two men: Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. "Tommy is the epitome of great music. Tommy's legal team dedicated to freeing Tommy Ward from prison for a crime he did not commit.. Heres a link to the decision https://t.co/21UQag7LEi, Tommy Ward: The Innocent Man (@WardInnocentMan) December 19, 2020. The state of Oklahoma filed a petition in the U.S. Supreme Court in January arguing that a federal law placing strict time limits on appeals should have barred the claims made in 2016 by Fontenot. This is new info, and were trying to figure what this means right now. In her 2020 ruling vacating Wards conviction, Judge Inge pointed to what she said were issues with the evidence in the case, and deemed that due to the passage of time, Ward would not be able to receive a fair trial. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and filming for Halloween Ends to release on October 14, 2022 with! Haraway had been shot rather than stabbed, was 20 miles away from where the men said her body had been dumped, and she had been wearing different clothes than those Ward and Fontenot described. The tribulations faced by the pair are depicted in Netflix's latest true crime docu-series, "The Innocent Man," based on the John Grisham book of the same name. In June this year, the US Supreme Court refused to take up the case and to examine the states appeal. Donate to The Frontier to support local independent investigative journalism.
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