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. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. The organization has not offered an update on the status of their efforts. 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. More damningly, Haraway had not been been stabbed as the young men had described. Ward is the subject of a Netflix docuseries and a book by John Grisham. Tommy Ward. News9.com is proud to provide Oklahomans with timely and relevant news and information, 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. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. The state also claims witnesses saw men matching Ward and Fontenots descriptions in the convenience store where Haraway worked before she disappeared. 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. When you read their briefs, they dont take issue with the fact that this information was withheld from him. He's very disappointed that he's still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. A federal judge in Muskogee overturned Fontenot's conviction in late 2019. 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. He often uses his platform to raise awareness for various charitable causes and uses his talents to give back to his community. Fontenot is currently awaiting the results of a federal appeal. [Warning: Spoilers for "The Innocent Man" ahead!]. Advertisement On Friday, a judge vacated Ward's convictions and sentences, dismissed the charges and . 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. The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tommy Ward, 60, to remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower courts ruling that he be released. remains wrongfully imprisoned . a man whose murder conviction in Oklahoma was overturned, Fontenot and Thomas Ward were convicted of killing Ada convenience store clerk Donna Denice Haraway in 1984, which became a Netflix documentary series, Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot, Human remains found, Oklahoma white supremacist leader might be connected, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. Timmy Ward gamelogs for the 2022 season. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Tommy Ward is a critically acclaimed singer and entertainer from Las Vegas who has a deep love and appreciation for legendary musicians and crooners. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal . Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. 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. At only 25 years old, he has already made a name for himself in the entertainment industry, and his videos on social media have racked up millions of views. 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. Instead, she had died from a gunshot wound. - BART TORRES, 99.7FM The Highway Vibe. 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. 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. Both have excellent teams of lawyers who continue to work for their release.. 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. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. Ward's accurate description of the blouse was the only information that he gave that was correct in his confession, Barrett said. 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. . Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. Wr Hines Ward - NFL.com /a > attorneys representing Tommy Ward was one of two serving! have asked the court of appeals . Fontenot was released from prison about one year ago after a federal judge found he also didnt receive a fair trial. info@tommywardmusic.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. 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. The Oklahoma attorney generals office, which appealed Inges order, declined to comment on Thursdays ruling. The Official YouTube Channel of Tommy Ward. 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. Please refer to our. Tommy Ward was scheduled to be released in December 2020, but . 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. 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. But one day before Ward's release, a temporary stay,. 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 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. 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. 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. OK man arrested for. Yale University Honors 9-Year-Old Scientist, Water Main Break In Tulsa Forces Limited Road Closure, Metro Summer Youth Camp Hopes To Prevent Violence In The Community, 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. Fontenots lawyers at first waived the right to respond to the state, but the Supreme Court then requested a response. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. 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. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. Tommy Ward was one of two men serving a life sentence for the 1984 murder of Denice Haraway in Ada. Among Fontenots legal team is Donald B. VerrilliJr., the U.S. solicitor general from 2011 to 2016. 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. 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. 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. 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. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. By: Dana Hertneky. Appears the state will retry Karl Fontenot, who was released 2 years ago and subject of #netflix special. The response filed by Fontenots lawyers this week said the vast majority of evidence that the state claims was available in the 1980s was actually being suppressed by the state. 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. Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. But the men quickly recanted and have claimed for decades that police coerced them to say they killed Haraway. Fontenot was sentenced to death again but Ward was sentenced to life in prison, according to The Oklahoman. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Release From Jail. Mark Barrett and Greg Swygert , the attorneys representing Tommy Ward, spoke with The Frontier this week about the status of Ward's case to have his 1989 murder conviction and life sentence. Courtesy. Fontenot. Fontenot, 57 and Tommy Ward, 61, were both twice convicted in Haraways murder. 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. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and filming for Halloween Ends to release on October 14, 2022 with! Back in December a Ponotoc County judge overturned Wards conviction saying prosecutors withheld evidence in the case. Fontenot, Wards co-defendant, was ordered released by a federal judge in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Breaking news: Judge orders Tommy released and vacates his conviction. 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. Fontenot's case was picked up by The Innocence Project in 2011, but there's . Fontenot and Thomas Ward were convicted of killing Ada convenience store clerk Donna Denice Haraway in 1984. Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration. She was 24. 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. 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. Share We promise to never spam you. Forget Me Not EP available now on all major platforms. 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. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna Denice Haraway. The newlywed college student worked as a clerk there at night. 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. 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. Ward's case was the focus of the Netflix documentary "The Innocent Man, " which was released in 2018. Ward and Fontenot were both granted a retrial a few years later, and again found guilty of Haraway's death. A spokeswoman for Attorney General John OConnor declined to comment on the pending cases. Ward and Fontenot were sentenced to death on January 21, 1985 after being found guilty of murdering Haraway. Ward was featured in the Netflix. They cant. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reinstated Tommy Ward's murder conviction in an infamous 1984 case out of Ada. She decided to vacate Wards conviction and life sentence, and ordered his release. The judge also called the evidence against Ward circumstantial and said nearly all of the details in his confession were inaccurate. The Pontotoc County District Attorneys office relied solely on investigators to provide it with the evidence needed to prosecute the case without questioning whether the investigators had turned over all exculpatory and/or impeachment evidence, Judge Paula Inge wrote in her December order.

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