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. Ward is a hardworking and dedicated artist who continues to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Timmy Ward gamelogs for the 2022 season. Ward's newly released EP "From This Moment On," (2022) produced by LeCoq Records, showcases his stunning vocal abilities . You can opt-out at any time. We promise to never spam you. The most recent exculpatory disclosure came in 2019, 31 years after Fontenots conviction.. In 2020, District Judge Paula Inge vacated his conviction, dismissed the charges against him, and ordered him set free. A federal judge in Muskogee overturned Fontenot's conviction in late 2019. The Oklahoma attorney generals office, which appealed Inges order, declined to comment on Thursdays ruling. She said police and prosecutors withheld evidence that would have assisted Wards defense. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. Judge vacates sentence; Tommy Ward to be set free 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. 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. Coverage of the latest true crime stories and famous cases explained, as well as the best TV shows, movies and podcasts in the genre. 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. 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. Haraways body was located after the convictions. 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. 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. 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.. A spokeswoman for Attorney General John OConnor declined to comment on the pending cases. Judge vacates Tommy Ward's sentences in 'The Innocent Man' case 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" Tommy Ward files another brief - KFOR.com 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. 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. Newson6.com is proud to provide Oklahomans with timely and relevant news and information, Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. The convictions were based almost entirely on accounts they said they retrieved from dreams. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. More damningly, Haraway had not been been stabbed as the young men had described. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. He is now 58 years old and says he will not admit guilt even if it means improving his chances at parole. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. Tommy Ward has been in prison 35 years for a murder he swears he did not commit. Instead, she had died from a gunshot wound. It was based on the 2006 true-crime book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham. 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. Heres a link to the decision https://t.co/21UQag7LEi, Tommy Ward: The Innocent Man (@WardInnocentMan) December 19, 2020. Fontenot and Thomas Ward were convicted of killing Ada convenience store clerk Donna Denice Haraway in 1984. Tommy's legal team dedicated to freeing Tommy Ward from prison for a crime he did not commit.. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. However, she would never be seen alive again. 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. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. Breaking news: Judge orders Tommy released and vacates his conviction. Forget Me Not EP available now on all major platforms. Tommy Ward was one of two men serving a life sentence for the 1984 murder of Denice Haraway in Ada. Additional reporting by The Associated Press. 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. 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. 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. 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. Tommy Ward has been in prison for 35 years and was supposed to be released today after a judge dismissed Ward's murder conviction. To the extent that this could be the next Sinatra of our time." 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. But the men quickly recanted and have claimed for decades that police coerced them to say they killed Haraway. Fight for his release from jail crime Netflix Series was released back in 2018, and temporary. The state also claims witnesses saw men matching Ward and Fontenots descriptions in the convenience store where Haraway worked before she disappeared. 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. Wr Hines Ward - NFL.com /a > attorneys representing Tommy Ward was one of two serving! Ward and Fontenot were sentenced to death on January 21, 1985 after being found guilty of murdering Haraway. The 10th U.S. In June this year, the US Supreme Court refused to take up the case and to examine the states appeal. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Oklahomas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, argued that the district court had abused its discretion in that instance. 2022 Reader's Choice Winners . Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna Denice Haraway. 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 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. State asks U.S. Supreme Court to uphold conviction in 'Innocent Man' Breaking news: Judge orders Tommy released and vacates his conviction. Ward had told police Haraway, 24, was stabbed and buried, but her skull, found more than a year after her disappearance, showed evidence of a gunshot wound and no evidence of stabbing, according to an autopsy. [Warning: Spoilers for "The Innocent Man" ahead!]. Oklahoma Attorney General's Office Appeals Release Of Tommy Ward Though no physical evidence tied them to Haraways disappearance, Fontenot and Ward initially confessed to the crime after questioning by investigators. The victim, Donna Denice Haraway, disappeared from the McAnally's convenience store in Ada on April 28, 1984. 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. The. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna "Denice" Haraway. Fontenot. 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.. Subscribe and Follow on Facebook and YouTube for the latest music. 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. PublishedDecember 26, 2020 at 10:50 AM CST, KGOU | 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. sharing the stories, pictures and loves of Oklahomans across our great state. Position: WR Height: 6-0 Weight: 190 College: Rutgers Hometown: Canton, PA High School: Canton HS Ward was featured in the Netflix. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. 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. 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. Thomas Ward, known to the public as Tommy Ward, was convicted in 1999 of the 1984 murder of Donna Denice Haraway in Ada, Oklahoma. Attorneys For Tommy Ward 'The Innocent Man' Continue Fight For His Fontenots conviction was overturned in 2019, and he was freed pending an appeal by the state. 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. 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. That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim's blouse, which prosecutors said he had described. In both Ward and Fontenots cases, judges issued rulings excoriating investigators for withholding favorable evidence from defense attorneys. We promise to never spam you. . OK man arrested for. 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. He often uses his platform to raise awareness for various charitable causes and uses his talents to give back to his community. Fontenots lawyers at first waived the right to respond to the state, but the Supreme Court then requested a response. His conviction is the subject of the Netflix docu-series "The . Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Judge orders release or new trial for 'Innocent Man' defendant 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. The organization has not offered an update on the status of their efforts. 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. Since the age of 16, Ward has had the opportunity to work alongside industry veterans and legends. Court upholds overturned conviction in 'Innocent Man' case 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. Please refer to our. Last week, a Pontotoc County District Court judge ordered Tommy Ward be released from prison. She was 24. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. 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. An Oklahoma judge ruled that the case rested on circumstantial evidence. Advertisement On Friday, a judge vacated Ward's convictions and sentences, dismissed the charges and . 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 Official YouTube Channel of Tommy Ward. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. "Everything about their confession has been proven wrong by the discovery of the body," attorney Janet Davis noted in the documentary. 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 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.. 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. Local prosecutors again secured their convictions, based largely on their confessions. Court Rules 'Innocent Man' Defendant to Remain Imprisoned Share. Tuesday, July 6th 2021, 11:00 pm. Ward's accurate description of the blouse was the only information that he gave that was correct in his confession, Barrett said. You can opt-out at any time. Among Fontenots legal team is Donald B. VerrilliJr., the U.S. solicitor general from 2011 to 2016. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The judge found Tommy Ward didnt get a fair trial. info@tommywardmusic.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. Fontenot is free on bond as the appeals process plays out. Court rules 'Innocent Man' defendant to remain imprisoned - AP NEWS The judge also called the evidence against Ward circumstantial and said nearly all of the details in his confession were inaccurate. Ward's case was the focus of the Netflix documentary "The Innocent Man, " which was released in 2018. Please refer to our. In a 2017 interview with The Marshall Project, the author discussed their fates. - STEVE WYNN, founder Wynn Resorts "I just saw Tommy in Las Vegas at a corporate event and I was BLOWN AWAY. What Happened To Tommy Ward And Karl Fontenot? 'The Innocent Man Tommy Ward: The Innocent Man (@WardInnocentMan) / Twitter The judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenot's alibi and other suspects in the murder provided "solid proof" of his probable innocence.