Want to support our mission to hold powerful people accountable, give a voice to the voiceless, and shine a light on darkness in Oklahoma? 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! Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. 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. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. 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. Tommy Ward, 61, and Karl Fontenot, 58, were . 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. Among Fontenots legal team is Donald B. VerrilliJr., the U.S. solicitor general from 2011 to 2016. An autopsy showed evidence that she had been shot and no sign that she had been stabbed, per The AP. Fontenot's case was picked up by The Innocence Project in 2011, but there's . John 3:16. Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. It was based on the 2006 true-crime book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham. Tommy Ward is still behind bars waiting for an appeal. Along with co-defendant Tommy Ward, Karl Fontenot was convicted twice in the kidnapping and murder of Donna Denise Haraway from an Ada convenience store in 1984 and sentenced to life without parole. A spokeswoman for Attorney General John OConnor declined to comment on the pending cases. Ward was featured in the Netflix. - BART TORRES, 99.7FM The Highway Vibe. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. 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. I didnt even know what the word 'statement' or 'confessing' meant 'til they told me I confessed to it. Donate to The Frontier to support local independent investigative journalism. Local prosecutors again secured their convictions, based largely on their confessions. 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.. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. The case was the subject of the book, The Dreams of Ada, by Robert Mayer, and was also described in John Grishams The Innocent Man, which became a Netflix documentary series. To the extent that this could be the next Sinatra of our time." Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. The victim, Donna Denice Haraway, disappeared from the McAnally's convenience store in Ada on April 28, 1984. Tommy Ward was scheduled to be released in December 2020, but . Im still holding out hope that the attorney general of Oklahoma will change course here, take a close look at the case, said Greg Swygert, one of Wards attorneys. Heres a link to the decision, Mark Barrett & The Center on Wrongful Convictions tweeted, with the legal documents confirming the move attached. The circumstances surrounding Ward and Fontenot's confessions were suspicious from the start, and in fact were later proved to be inconsistent with what had actually happened to Haraway: Her body was ultimately found years after she vanished, 30 miles away from where the duo said they had deposited it. More damningly, Haraway had not been been stabbed as the young men had described. FILE - This photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Tommy Ward, who has spent 35 years in prison in a murder case featured in the book and television series 'The Innocent. "They have now been in prison for 31 years, serving hard time for a murder committed by someone else. Tommy Ward has been in prison 35 years for a murder he swears he did not commit. Advertisement On Friday, a judge vacated Ward's convictions and sentences, dismissed the charges and . Haraways body was located after the convictions. The court overturned a lower court decision that said because prosecutors and police withheld evidence that could exonerate Tommy Ward, 61, of the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway in Ada. Both are model prisoners. The Oklahoma Innocence Project, an organization that helps to exonerate those wrongfully convicted, attempted to take on Fontenot's case in 2013, but itsappeals were denied in 2015. OK man arrested for. We promise to never spam you. Share But now, Wards release has been blocked by the state Attorney Generals Office. Subscribe and Follow on Facebook and YouTube for the latest music. have asked the court of appeals . Fontenot, Wards co-defendant, was ordered released by a federal judge in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order. The order is the latest in a string of decisions rebuking the convictions of Ward and Karl Fontenot for an infamous 1984 murder documented in two books and a recent Netflix documentary. The 10th U.S. Fontenots lawyers at first waived the right to respond to the state, but the Supreme Court then requested a response. Critically acclaimed singer, musician, and entertainer. 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. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. The state of Oklahoma engaged in an egregious, decades-long pattern of prosecutorial misconduct to ensure that the facts of Karl Fontenots innocence never came to light, Fontenots legal team told the court. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. Tommy Ward was one of two men serving a life sentence for the 1984 murder of Denice Haraway in Ada. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. The only evidence the state used in convicting Ward was a confession that he later claimed was spun wildly from a dream he reported, and only came out after intense pressure and hours of brutal interrogation. 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. Both have excellent teams of lawyers who continue to work for their release.. Ward's accurate description of the blouse was the only information that he gave that was correct in his confession, Barrett said. Appears the state will retry Karl Fontenot, who was released 2 years ago and subject of #netflix special. Which they did after I taped the statement," Fontenot said almost immediately after his interrogation, as described in Grisham's book. 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 . Karl Fontenot, Tommy Ward. sharing the stories, pictures and loves of Oklahomans across our great state. Ward's case, and others, have been the. Ward and co-defendant Karl Fontenot's initial convictions and death sentences for Harways death were overturned, but both were again convicted on retrial with Fontenot again receiving a death sentence and Ward being sentenced to life in prison. The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021 that 60-year-old Tommy Ward remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower court's ruling. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. The conclusion of "The Innocent Man" docu-series notes that Ward's post-conviction filing has been opposed by the state, but that a judge will review the case in 2019. News 9 Team Holds Severe Weather Expo At Penn Square Mall, Sauced On The Paseo Re-Opens 2 Years After Fire, Read Across America Celebration Held At Belle Isle Library, OKC Thunder, Big Brothers & Big Sisters Host Clinic For Kids At Park, TCSO, 'Color Free America' Hold Dialogue Between Citizens And Law Enforcement, First Responders Host Recruitment Fair In Tulsa, Doctors Warn Dangers Of Cannabis Edibles For Children. Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. The judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenot's alibi and other suspects in the murder provided "solid proof" of his probable innocence. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. Oct 28, 2022. Fontenot and Thomas Ward were convicted of killing Ada convenience store clerk Donna Denice Haraway in 1984. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. 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. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. When you read their briefs, they dont take issue with the fact that this information was withheld from him. Barrett noted that the appeals court ordered the lower court to consider an additional claim regarding new evidence discovered in 2019. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reinstated Tommy Ward's murder conviction in an infamous 1984 case out of Ada. 2022 Reader's Choice Winners . In June this year, the US Supreme Court refused to take up the case and to examine the states appeal. Fontenot has been released pending a decision from the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Ward and Fontenot were sentenced to death on January 21, 1985 after being found guilty of murdering Haraway. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Fontenot is free on bond as the appeals process plays out. The Innocent Man, released by Netflix in 2018, looked at two murder cases having taken place in Ada in the 1980s, including the one which resulted in Wards conviction. We promise to never spam you. That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim's blouse, which prosecutors said he had described. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. So where are the two men now, more than 30 years later? More to come. He reminds me of working with Frank Sinatra in some strange way." And the prosecutorial misconduct did not end with the trial: over the next thirty years, the State continued to withhold evidence, releasing it piecemeal only when compelled to do so by multiple court orders, the lawyers told the court. Ward had told police Haraway, 24, was stabbed and buried, but her skull, found more than a year after her disappearance, showed evidence of a gunshot wound and no evidence of stabbing, according to an autopsy. He is now 58 years old and says he will not admit guilt even if it means improving his chances at parole. We are pressing forward exploring the possibility of going to federal court with additional appeals, Barrett said. Courtesy Netflix. She said police and prosecutors withheld evidence that would have assisted Wards defense. Meanwhile, Fontenot, as explained in the Netflix series, had perhaps offered his testimony to the aggressive police because he both feared for his safety and wanted to escape from what was described as poverty and homelessness. attempted to take on Fontenot's case in 2013, a 2017 interview with The Marshall Project. However, court documents filed on Monday (29 August) show that on Friday (26 August), Oklahomas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the judges decision and reinstated Wards conviction. Fontenot has been released pending a decision from the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Fontenot was released in December 2019 at the age of 55 after a federal judge ordered he be released or retried. 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. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. Fontenot is currently awaiting the results of a federal appeal. Instead, she had died from a gunshot wound. Ward's newly released EP From This Moment On, (2022) produced by LeCoq Records, showcases his stunning vocal abilities and features truly unique arrangements played by some of the world's most respected musicians, including Bill Cunliffe, John Pattitucci, Vinny Colaiuta, and others. The ruling came down Friday from District Judge Paula Inge in Pontotoc County, who concluded in post-conviction finding that the case rested on circumstantial evidence in the form of conflicted witness statements and Wards inculpatory statements he gave to police. - STEVE WYNN, founder Wynn Resorts "I just saw Tommy in Las Vegas at a corporate event and I was BLOWN AWAY. Tuesday, July 6th 2021, 11:00 pm. Breaking news: Judge orders Tommy released and vacates his conviction. He is 54 years old and is being held at the at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in Oklahoma. By, 'Deeply tainted': Oklahoma conservatives call for moratorium, abolition of the death penalty, Sheriff, jail health care provider seek public money to increase staff after two women died, AG Drummond orders independent counsel to review Glossip death penalty case, Oklahoma Attorney General requests more time in between executions. Ward and Fontenot were both granted a retrial a few years later, and again found guilty of Haraway's death. Thomas Ward, known to the public as Tommy Ward, was convicted in 1999 of the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway in Ada, Oklahoma. 7726 5241 Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US Are allowed finish! Tommy's legal team dedicated to freeing Tommy Ward from prison for a crime he did not commit.. Both have excellent teams of lawyers who continue to work for their release." The conclusion of "The Innocent Man" docu-series notes that Ward's post-conviction filing has been opposed by the state, but that a judge will review the case in 2019. Shot by Shot: Tracking Oklahoma police shootings in 2023, Listen Frontier: Sen. James Lankford speaks with The Frontier about abortion, immigration and more, Frontier content sharing and collaboration terms. The Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the conviction of one man in the 1984 murder of an Ada convienince store worker featured featured The Innocent Man. An Oklahoma judge ruled that the case rested on circumstantial evidence. [Warning: Spoilers for "The Innocent Man" ahead!]. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. Tuesday 30 August 2022 23:08 Tommy Ward in the 2018 Netflix docuseries 'The Innocent Man' (Netflix) A prisoner featured in the Netflix documentary series The Innocent Man has had his murder.

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