Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration. 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. Ward is currently still in prison while the appeals process continues. - BART TORRES, 99.7FM The Highway Vibe. 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. He is currently serving time at the Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy in Oklahoma. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. 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. 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. Share. 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. 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. Ward and Fontenot were sentenced to death on January 21, 1985 after being found guilty of murdering Haraway. PublishedDecember 26, 2020 at 10:50 AM CST, KGOU | OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) A man who has spent 35 years in prison in a murder case featured in the book and television series The Innocent Man must remain incarcerated even after a judge ordered his release, an appeals court ruled Thursday. Fontenot was released in December 2019 at the age of 55 after a federal judge ordered he be released or retried. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the judges ruling last year, saying that, Almost no evidence connected him to the crime other than his own videotaped confession, a confession that rang false in almost every particular., The appeals court said Fontenot has brought forth new evidence that is sufficient to unlock the actual innocence gateway and to allow his substantive claims to be heard on the merits. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. featured in the book and television series, Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Kellyanne Conway, George Conway To Divorce After Decadeslong Marriage: Report, School punished teen girl for working out in sports bra in 100-degree Texas heat, ACLU says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, 'Extremely dangerous': Spike in illegal crossings at Canada-Vermont border has feds sounding alarm. Appears the state will retry Karl Fontenot, who was released 2 years ago and subject of #netflix special. 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. Timmy Ward gamelogs for the 2022 season. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna Denice Haraway. Fontenots lawyers at first waived the right to respond to the state, but the Supreme Court then requested a response. More:Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. Fontenot, 57 and Tommy Ward, 61, were both twice convicted in Haraways murder. A federal judge in Muskogee overturned Fontenot's conviction in late 2019. 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. I received Christmas cards last week from both Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, so we keep in touch," Grisham said. His previous EPs "Forget Me Not" and "Merry Christmas" both reached the Top 10 on iTunes jazz charts on the first day of their release. Ward is the subject of a Netflix docuseries and a book by John Grisham. Want to support our mission to hold powerful people accountable, give a voice to the voiceless, and shine a light on darkness in Oklahoma? mail Fontenot has been released pending a decision from the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. It was later upheld when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the state's appeal. Heres a link to the decision, Mark Barrett & The Center on Wrongful Convictions tweeted, with the legal documents confirming the move attached. Evidence presented to exonerate Fontenot had been available since Fontenots trials in the 1980s, the state said, arguing that the high court should accept the caseto clarify that new evidence means newly discovered or newly available evidence as opposed to newly presented evidence. Thomas Ward, known to the public as Tommy Ward, was convicted in 1999 of the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway in Ada, Oklahoma. A prisoner featured in the Netflix documentary series The Innocent Man has had his murder conviction and life sentence reinstated after previously being granted relief. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal . Position: WR Height: 6-0 Weight: 190 College: Rutgers Hometown: Canton, PA High School: Canton HS The attorneys claim a trove of hundreds of new documents uncovered in a police storage room back up Fontenots claims of innocence. 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. Tommy Ward is a critically acclaimed singer and entertainer from Las Vegas who has a deep love and appreciation for legendary musicians and crooners. 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.. 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. She was 24. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. 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 Man'. Additional reporting by The Associated Press. Subscribe and Follow on Facebook and YouTube for the latest music. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. The appeals court did task the district court with handling a remaining claim from Wards team, according to which newly discovered evidence requires his conviction to be vacated. The Official YouTube Channel of Tommy Ward. 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. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Local prosecutors again secured their convictions, based largely on their confessions. In both Ward and Fontenots cases, judges issued rulings excoriating investigators for withholding favorable evidence from defense attorneys. Tommy Ward was scheduled to be released in December 2020, but . Fontenot is free on bond as the appeals process plays out. 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. Lawyers for a man whose murder conviction in Oklahoma was overturned after he served more than three decades in prison urged the U.S. Supreme Court this week not to grant the states request to review the case. His conviction is the subject of the Netflix docu-series "The . Ward's newly released EP "From This Moment On," (2022) produced by LeCoq Records, showcases his stunning vocal abilities . - STEVE WYNN, founder Wynn Resorts "I just saw Tommy in Las Vegas at a corporate event and I was BLOWN AWAY. A spokeswoman for Attorney General John OConnor declined to comment on the pending cases. The judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenots alibi and other suspects in the murder provided solid proof of his probable innocence. Fontenots death sentence was later reduced to life before his conviction was reversed by a federal appeals court. 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. In 2020, Fontenot's co-defendant in the case, Tommy Ward, also had his conviction overturned in state court, but prosecutors have appealed that decision to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Tommy Ward one of the subjects of Netflixs true-crime docuseries The Innocent Man, who was convicted of abduction, rape and the murder of an Oklahoma woman is to be released from prison (where he was sentenced to life) and all charges against him dismissed, Wards legal team announced Saturday. Ada store clerk Denice Haraway was abducted and killed on April 28, 1984. . YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. The convictions were based almost entirely on accounts they said they retrieved from dreams. The 10th U.S. Both Ward and . . attempted to take on Fontenot's case in 2013, a 2017 interview with The Marshall Project. 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. Karl Fontenot was 20 years old in 1984, when he was arrested for the rape and murder of Donna Denice Haraway along with Tommy Ward. Fight for his release from jail crime Netflix Series was released back in 2018, and temporary. Also Read: 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. 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. In 2020, District Judge Paula Inge vacated his conviction, dismissed the charges against him, and ordered him set free. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? 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. 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. Tuesday, July 6th 2021, 11:00 pm. 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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. 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. The newlywed college student worked as a clerk there at night. Which they did after I taped the statement," Fontenot said almost immediately after his interrogation, as described in Grisham's book. 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. sharing the stories, pictures and loves of Oklahomans across our great state. By: Dana Hertneky. This is new info, and were trying to figure what this means right now. Instead, she had died from a gunshot wound. You can opt-out at any time. Tommy Ward has been in prison for 35 years and was supposed to be released today after a judge dismissed Ward's murder conviction. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. Oklahomas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, argued that the district court had abused its discretion in that instance. Both Ward and Fontenot would go on to recant their confessions. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. 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 . Fontenots conviction was overturned in 2019 by a federal judge in Muskogee, and that courts ruling was upheld last year by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Ward's case, and others, have been the. 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. When you read their briefs, they dont take issue with the fact that this information was withheld from him. But one day before Ward's release, a temporary stay,. I didnt even know what the word 'statement' or 'confessing' meant 'til they told me I confessed to it. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. The ruling, dated Friday, said the withheld evidence, which included witness interviews and police reports, had been available to Ward's defense since 2003 and was not included in Ward's direct appeal after his 1999 conviction. 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. 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! Fontenot was sentenced to death again but Ward was sentenced to life in prison, according to The Oklahoman. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. 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. In a motion and brief filed Monday on behalf of Tommy Ward, one of two men convicted of Haraway's murder in Ada and who was featured in the John Grisham book the Innocent Man and 2018 Netflix. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Release From Jail. 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 six-part docuseries series, based on John Grishams 2006 best-selling non-fiction book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town, tells the story of Ronald Keith Williamson, a man wrongfully convicted of rape and murder who spent 11 years on death row before he was exonerated. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. A state judge overturned Wards conviction in 2020, but the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office has appealed the ruling. It also accounts the false convictions of Ward and Karl Fontenot for themurder of Denice Haraway and the false conviction of Greg Wilhoit for the rape and murder of his estranged wife. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Release From Jail. 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. The Official YouTube Channel of Tommy Ward. We are pressing forward exploring the possibility of going to federal court with additional appeals, Barrett said. Its clear as day.. John Grisham continues to correspond with both men. Ward's most recent recording, "Home" with GRAMMY nominated country artist Mark Winston Kirk, is currently in the Top 100 on regional radio and is being played in more than 15 states across the United States, including Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Ward has also had a widely celebrated opening act run for comedy legend Louie Anderson during his tenure at the Plaza Hotel. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. @WardInnocentMan. The state court of criminal appeals voted unanimously to reinstate Tommy Ward's murder conviction. Though no physical evidence tied them to Haraways disappearance, Fontenot and Ward initially confessed to the crime after questioning by investigators. The judge found Tommy Ward didnt get a fair trial. Ward's accurate description of the blouse was the only information that he gave that was correct in his confession, Barrett said. More to come. info@tommywardmusic.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. She said police and prosecutors withheld evidence that would have assisted Wards defense. All rights reserved. Attorneys for a man convicted for the 1984 kidnapping and murder of an Ada woman say they plan to file a federal case to try and overturn his conviction after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a lower court's order that would have made him a free man. Critically acclaimed singer, musician, and entertainer. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, A judge reversed the conviction of Thomas Ward, known to the public as Tommy Ward, in 2020, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Tommy Ward in the 2018 Netflix docuseries The Innocent Man'. This is new info, and were trying to figure what this means right now. The most recent exculpatory disclosure came in 2019, 31 years after Fontenots conviction.. The organization has not offered an update on the status of their efforts. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. Wards and Fontenots convictions were featured in the John Grisham 2006 book The Innocent Man and a 2018 Netflix series of the same name, as well as the 1987 book Dreams of Ada by Robert Mayer. 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. The courts exhaustively reviewed voluminous amounts of withheld exculpatory evidence and correctly concluded that this is the rare case in which a habeas petitioner has credibly demonstrated actual innocence, the lawyers said.