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. 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. John 3:16. The. 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. "Everything about their confession has been proven wrong by the discovery of the body," attorney Janet Davis noted in the documentary. In June this year, the US Supreme Court refused to take up the case and to examine the states appeal. OK man arrested for. 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. Heres a link to the decision https://t.co/21UQag7LEi, Tommy Ward: The Innocent Man (@WardInnocentMan) December 19, 2020. PublishedDecember 26, 2020 at 10:50 AM CST, KGOU | Ward and Fontenot were both granted a retrial a few years later, and again found guilty of Haraway's death. We are pressing forward exploring the possibility of going to federal court with additional appeals, Barrett said. attempted to take on Fontenot's case in 2013, a 2017 interview with The Marshall Project. 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. Also Read: 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. Oklahoma Attorney General's Office Appeals Release Of Tommy Ward. Since the age of 16, Ward has had the opportunity to work alongside industry veterans and legends. Ward's newly released EP "From This Moment On," (2022) produced by LeCoq Records, showcases his stunning vocal abilities . However, she would never be seen alive again. We promise to never spam you. Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. Ward's case, and others, have been the. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. Ward remains in prison as the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals weighs his case. The state court of criminal appeals voted unanimously to reinstate Tommy Ward's murder conviction. A federal judge in Muskogee overturned Fontenot's conviction in late 2019. 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, 61, and Karl Fontenot, 58, were . Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. The attorneys claim a trove of hundreds of new documents uncovered in a police storage room back up Fontenots claims of innocence. 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. Fontenots conviction was overturned in 2019, and he was freed pending an appeal by the state. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. The convictions of Ward and Fontenot have been the subject of numerous books, including John Grishams The Innocent Man, which he produced into a six-part documentary. Fontenot was released from prison about one year ago after a federal judge found he also didnt receive a fair trial. Haraway was working as a clerk in a convenience store when she went missing in Ada in 1984. This contradicted the confessions, which stated that Haraway had been stabbed to death. John Grisham continues to correspond with both men. 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. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. More:Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. 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 . Tommy Ward has been in prison 35 years for a murder he swears he did not commit. Tommy's legal team dedicated to freeing Tommy Ward from prison for a crime he did not commit.. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE, 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. have asked the court of appeals . 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. 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. 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. But now, Wards release has been blocked by the state Attorney Generals Office. Donate to The Frontier to support local independent investigative journalism. Thomas Ward, known to the public as Tommy Ward, was convicted in 1999 of the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway in Ada, Oklahoma. 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. Courtesy. mail The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. - STEVE WYNN, founder Wynn Resorts "I just saw Tommy in Las Vegas at a corporate event and I was BLOWN AWAY. Which they did after I taped the statement," Fontenot said almost immediately after his interrogation, as described in Grisham's book. Newson6.com is proud to provide Oklahomans with timely and relevant news and information, 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. 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. To the extent that this could be the next Sinatra of our time." It was later upheld when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the state's appeal. So where are the two men now, more than 30 years later? Critically acclaimed singer, musician, and entertainer. In 2020, District Judge Paula Inge vacated his conviction, dismissed the charges against him, and ordered him set free. 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 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. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. 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. Ward is currently still in prison while the appeals process continues. His conviction is the subject of the Netflix docu-series "The . Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. Appears the state will retry Karl Fontenot, who was released 2 years ago and subject of #netflix special. Ward remained in prison while the state appealed the ruling, The Associated Press reported at the time. You can opt-out at any time. The judge found Tommy Ward didnt get a fair trial. @WardInnocentMan. Fontenot is currently awaiting the results of a federal appeal. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Release From Jail. 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! 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. Tommy Ward to be set free . He is 54 years old and is being held at the at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in Oklahoma. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. 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. 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. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. 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. 7726 5241 Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US Are allowed finish! 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. Ward was featured in the Netflix. Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. 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. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna Denice Haraway. "Tommy is the epitome of great music. 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. The judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenots alibi and other suspects in the murder provided solid proof of his probable innocence. Additional reporting by The Associated Press. ADVERTISEMENT But the men quickly recanted and have claimed for decades that police coerced them to say they killed Haraway. 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. I didnt even know what the word 'statement' or 'confessing' meant 'til they told me I confessed to it. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna Denice Haraway. 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. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. 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. 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'. 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. Per The Associated Press, the convictions were based almost entirely on accounts they said they retrieved from dreams, and 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.. 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.. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. The 10th U.S. More to come. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal . and his videos on social media have racked up millions of views. I received Christmas cards last week from both Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, so we keep in touch," Grisham said. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Please refer to our. An Oklahoma judge ruled that the case rested on circumstantial evidence. Both are model prisoners. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Fontenots lawyers at first waived the right to respond to the state, but the Supreme Court then requested a response. 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. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Convicted murderer Tommy Ward has filed a brief in response to the Attorney General's motion to keep him locked up in prison. 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. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! 2022 Reader's Choice Winners . 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.

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