Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and filming for Halloween Ends to release on October 14, 2022 with! Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal . Fontenot was released from prison about one year ago after a federal judge found he also didnt receive a fair trial. Since the age of 16, Ward has had the opportunity to work alongside industry veterans and legends. 19 talking about this. As a nonprofit news organization,The Frontieris funded by tax-deductible donations made by people who support quality journalism. 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. Oct 28, 2022. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. Advertisement On Friday, a judge vacated Ward's convictions and sentences, dismissed the charges and . He's very disappointed that he's still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. The 10th U.S. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! So where are the two men now, more than 30 years later? 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. In 2020, District Judge Paula Inge vacated his conviction, dismissed the charges against him, and ordered him set free. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. An autopsy showed evidence that she had been shot and no sign that she had been stabbed, per The AP. Newly filed court documents reveal that a man who was one of the subjects of "The Innocent Man" is set to be released from prison. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Release From Jail. 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. Tommy Ward is still behind bars waiting for an appeal. Ward is currently still in prison while the appeals process continues. and his videos on social media have racked up millions of views. A state judge overturned Wards conviction in 2020, but the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office has appealed the ruling. Tommy Ward andKarl Fontenot were sentenced to death in 1985 for the murder of Denice Haraway, despite the fact that their confessions didn't match the crime they were accused of. Ward was convicted alongside Karl Fontenot for murdering Donna Harraway in Ada. 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. 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. That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim's blouse, which prosecutors said he had described. 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. . Ada store clerk Denice Haraway was abducted and killed on April 28, 1984. . "Tommy is the epitome of great music. We are pressing forward exploring the possibility of going to federal court with additional appeals, Barrett said. 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. Fontenot. The state court of criminal appeals voted unanimously to reinstate Tommy Ward's murder conviction. It was based on the 2006 true-crime book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham. 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. The Oklahoma attorney generals office, which appealed Inges order, declined to comment on Thursdays ruling. - BART TORRES, 99.7FM The Highway Vibe. Ward is currently still in prison while the appeals process continues. 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 . 7726 5241 Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US Are allowed finish! Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. 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. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Tommy Ward is a critically acclaimed singer and entertainer from Las Vegas who has a deep love and appreciation for legendary musicians and crooners. Ward was convicted in the case in 1989 along with a co-defendant named Karl Fontenot. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. Ward and Fontenot were sentenced to death on January 21, 1985 after being found guilty of murdering Haraway. 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's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration. More to come. Heres a link to the decision https://t.co/21UQag7LEi, Tommy Ward: The Innocent Man (@WardInnocentMan) December 19, 2020. He is 54 years old and is being held at the at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in Oklahoma. @WardInnocentMan. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. They cant. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. Fight for his release from jail crime Netflix Series was released back in 2018, and temporary. remains wrongfully imprisoned . Also Read: 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. 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. 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. Share 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. Tommy Ward to be set free . YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. 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. Fontenot, now 57,was tried twice and given the death penalty both times, though a retrial error led to a new sentence of life without parole. sharing the stories, pictures and loves of Oklahomans across our great state. Both Ward and . More:Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. 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. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. 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. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. Ward is the subject of a Netflix docuseries and a book by John Grisham. Ward's newly released EP "From This Moment On," (2022) produced by LeCoq Records, showcases his stunning vocal abilities . 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.. 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. She decided to vacate Wards conviction and life sentence, and ordered his release. She was 24. Additional reporting by The Associated Press. He often uses his platform to raise awareness for various charitable causes and uses his talents to give back to his community. "They said I had a choice to write it or tape it. 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. However, she would never be seen alive again. 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. At time of writing, he is still serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole, and is now 54 years old. 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.

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