Back in December a Ponotoc County judge overturned Wards conviction saying prosecutors withheld evidence in the case. 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. 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. Ward remained in prison while the state appealed the ruling, The Associated Press reported at the time. 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! But one day before Ward's release, a temporary stay,. attempted to take on Fontenot's case in 2013, a 2017 interview with The Marshall Project. This is new info, and were trying to figure what this means right now. Fontenot, Wards co-defendant, was ordered released by a federal judge in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. Please refer to our. Fontenot. 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.. 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. Tommy Ward has been in prison for 35 years and was supposed to be released today after a judge dismissed Ward's murder conviction. 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 . Fontenot is free on bond as the appeals process plays out. Ward's accurate description of the blouse was the only information that he gave that was correct in his confession, Barrett said. Oct 28, 2022. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. 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 was scheduled to be released in December 2020, but . More damningly, Haraway had not been been stabbed as the young men had described. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. 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. It was based on the 2006 true-crime book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham. Ward was featured in the Netflix. 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. 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. Read: Attorney General's Office Appeals Ruling That Would Vacate Sentence Of Tommy Ward, In Tuesdays filing, attorneys representing Ward argued the district judges ruling was fair and reasonable and echoed the judge that the withheld evidence creates a reasonable probability that the outcome would be different.. The Oklahoma Attorney General's 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. @WardInnocentMan. 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. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. Ward remains in prison as the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals weighs his case. Oklahomas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, argued that the district court had abused its discretion in that instance. 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. He's very disappointed that he's still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. Read: Attorney General's Office Appeals Ruling That Would Vacate Sentence Of Tommy Ward, In Tuesdays filing, attorneys representing Ward argued the district judges ruling was fair and reasonable and echoed the judge that the withheld evidence creates a reasonable probability that the outcome would be different.. She decided to vacate Wards conviction and life sentence, and ordered his release. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reinstated Tommy Ward's murder conviction in an infamous 1984 case out of Ada. Ward's case was the focus of the Netflix documentary "The Innocent Man, " which was released in 2018. Tommy Ward. "Tommy is the epitome of great music. Heres a link to the decision, Mark Barrett & The Center on Wrongful Convictions tweeted, with the legal documents confirming the move attached. 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. - QUINCY JONES, 27 time GRAMMY-award-winning producer "A fine singer A lovely, silky voice." Both are model prisoners. Ward's case, and others, have been the. . Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 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. Fontenots lawyers at first waived the right to respond to the state, but the Supreme Court then requested a response. mail 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. 2022 Reader's Choice Winners . 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. He is now 58 years old and says he will not admit guilt even if it means improving his chances at parole. Share. Barrett noted that the appeals court ordered the lower court to consider an additional claim regarding new evidence discovered in 2019. 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 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. The Official YouTube Channel of Tommy Ward. The convictions were based almost entirely on accounts they said they retrieved from dreams. 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. I received Christmas cards last week from both Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, so we keep in touch," Grisham said. Tommy Ward, 61, and Karl Fontenot, 58, were . 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. 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. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. Fontenot has been released pending a decision from the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. The. Wr Hines Ward - NFL.com /a > attorneys representing Tommy Ward was one of two serving! 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. Hes very disappointed that hes still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Wards attorney Mark Barrett told The Associated Press on Tuesday (30 August), adding that the legal team is pressing forward and exploring the possibility of going to federal court.. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. 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. 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. The judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenot's alibi and other suspects in the murder provided "solid proof" of his probable innocence. Fight for his release from jail crime Netflix Series was released back in 2018, and temporary. She doesnt believe he could be given a fair trial after more than 30 years. He reminds me of working with Frank Sinatra in some strange way." 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. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. 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. 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. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Subscribe and Follow on Facebook and YouTube for the latest music. Ward is currently still in prison while the appeals process continues. Justices may determine before the courts term ends this summer whether to review the case. 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. 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. 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. Both have excellent teams of lawyers who continue to work for their release.. 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. 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. have asked the court of appeals . Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. When you read their briefs, they dont take issue with the fact that this information was withheld from him. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal . 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. 19 talking about this. Appears the state will retry Karl Fontenot, who was released 2 years ago and subject of #netflix special. Local prosecutors again secured their convictions, based largely on their confessions. Tommy Ward is a critically acclaimed singer and entertainer from Las Vegas who has a deep love and appreciation for legendary musicians and crooners. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. Additional reporting by The Associated Press. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. Want to support our mission to hold powerful people accountable, give a voice to the voiceless, and shine a light on darkness in Oklahoma? Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. - STEVE WYNN, founder Wynn Resorts "I just saw Tommy in Las Vegas at a corporate event and I was BLOWN AWAY. The Attorney Generals office claims in its filing that Fontenot and Ward attempted to minimize their involvement in Haraways death during their confessions by saying the primary aggressor was another man who was never charged with the crime. He is 54 years old and is being held at the at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in Oklahoma. "Everything about their confession has been proven wrong by the discovery of the body," attorney Janet Davis noted in the documentary. Tweet A spokeswoman for Attorney General John OConnor declined to comment on the pending cases. [Warning: Spoilers for "The Innocent Man" ahead!]. 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. More to come. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. Ward is a hardworking and dedicated artist who continues to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? But now, Wards release has been blocked by the state Attorney Generals Office. The most recent exculpatory disclosure came in 2019, 31 years after Fontenots conviction.. The state also claims witnesses saw men matching Ward and Fontenots descriptions in the convenience store where Haraway worked before she disappeared. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and filming for Halloween Ends to release on October 14, 2022 with! John 3:16. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. A state judge overturned Wards conviction in 2020, but the Oklahoma Attorney Generals Office has appealed the ruling. Tommy Ward is still behind bars waiting for an appeal. The 10th U.S. The newlywed college student worked as a clerk there at night. 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.. Among Fontenots legal team is Donald B. VerrilliJr., the U.S. solicitor general from 2011 to 2016. "They said I had a choice to write it or tape it. The convictions of Ward and Fontenot have come under intense scrutiny for years and have been the subject of numerous books, including John Grishams The Innocent Man, which he produced into a six-part documentary. Tommy Ward to be set free . Newson6.com is proud to provide Oklahomans with timely and relevant news and information, info@tommywardmusic.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. Haraways body was located after the convictions. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. Karl Fontenot, Tommy Ward. OK man arrested for. 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. 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. An autopsy showed evidence that she had been shot and no sign that she had been stabbed, per The AP. 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. Both Ward and Fontenot would go on to recant their confessions. 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. John Grisham continues to correspond with both men. 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 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. 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. Position: WR Height: 6-0 Weight: 190 College: Rutgers Hometown: Canton, PA High School: Canton HS Its clear as day.. 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. Fontenot, 57 and Tommy Ward, 61, were both twice convicted in Haraways murder. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. Ward and Fontenot were both granted a retrial a few years later, and again found guilty of Haraway's death. More to come. Courtesy Netflix. Share 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. sharing the stories, pictures and loves of Oklahomans across our great state. To the extent that this could be the next Sinatra of our time." You can opt-out at any time. Since the age of 16, Ward has had the opportunity to work alongside industry veterans and legends. He often uses his platform to raise awareness for various charitable causes and uses his talents to give back to his community. Both Ward and . At time of writing, he is still serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole, and is now 54 years old. and his videos on social media have racked up millions of views. Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. 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. 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. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! At 17, he and his band were one of the youngest opening acts in Las Vegas history, completing 90 shows for Billboard #1 artist and Las Vegas headliner of the year, Frankie Moreno. Fontenots and Wards attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. 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. Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. Ward is currently still in prison while the appeals process continues. They cant. Fontenot was released in December 2019 at the age of 55 after a federal judge ordered he be released or retried. 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. 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. Tommy Ward is a critically acclaimed singer and entertainer from Las Vegas who has a deep love and appreciation for legendary musicians and crooners. You can opt-out at any time. 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. All rights reserved. Back in December a Ponotoc County judge overturned Wards conviction saying prosecutors withheld evidence in the case. Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. The state Attorney Generals office appealed the order to overturn Fontenots conviction in federal court and has now announced its intent to appeal the order to release Ward. 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. 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. The attorneys claim a trove of hundreds of new documents uncovered in a police storage room back up Fontenots claims of innocence. 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. Forget Me Not EP available now on all major platforms. I didnt even know what the word 'statement' or 'confessing' meant 'til they told me I confessed to it. As a nonprofit news organization,The Frontieris funded by tax-deductible donations made by people who support quality journalism. The judge also called the evidence against Ward circumstantial and said nearly all of the details in his confession were inaccurate. Fontenots conviction was overturned in 2019, and he was freed pending an appeal by the state. 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. 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. Critically acclaimed singer, musician, and entertainer. 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! Also Read: 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. Tommy Ward was one of two men serving a life sentence for the 1984 murder of Denice Haraway in Ada. Fontenot is currently awaiting the results of a federal appeal. Advertisement On Friday, a judge vacated Ward's convictions and sentences, dismissed the charges and . Instead, she had died from a gunshot wound. More:Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. The state court of criminal appeals voted unanimously to reinstate Tommy Ward's murder conviction. 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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. 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.. Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
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