Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. 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. 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. 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. 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. She decided to vacate Wards conviction and life sentence, and ordered his release. A spokeswoman for Attorney General John OConnor declined to comment on the pending cases. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. 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. 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. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! have asked the court of appeals . As a nonprofit news organization,The Frontieris funded by tax-deductible donations made by people who support quality journalism. Critically acclaimed singer, musician, and entertainer. An autopsy showed evidence that she had been shot and no sign that she had been stabbed, per The AP. This contradicted the confessions, which stated that Haraway had been stabbed to death. The judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenot's alibi and other suspects in the murder provided "solid proof" of his probable innocence. 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. 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. More to come. 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. Ward remained in prison while the state appealed the ruling, The Associated Press reported at the time. Ward's case was the focus of the Netflix documentary "The Innocent Man, " which was released in 2018. Tuesday, they filed a brief with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The two insisted they were innocent, but still ended up convicted of Haraway's murder. They cant. [Warning: Spoilers for "The Innocent Man" ahead!]. 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. 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. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. ADVERTISEMENT 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. We promise to never spam you. 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. 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. Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration. Share Fontenot's case was picked up by The Innocence Project in 2011, but there's . 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 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. 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. 7726 5241 Dial by your location +1 346 248 7799 US Are allowed finish! Barrett noted that the appeals court ordered the lower court to consider an additional claim regarding new evidence discovered in 2019. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. Tommy Ward was scheduled to be released in December 2020, but . That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim's blouse, which prosecutors said he had described. Both Ward and . Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. He's very disappointed that he's still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. 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 and Fontenot were both granted a retrial a few years later, and again found guilty of Haraway's death. "Tommy is the epitome of great music. - QUINCY JONES, 27 time GRAMMY-award-winning producer "A fine singer A lovely, silky voice." 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. Keep up-to-date with everything that happens in your world. In both Ward and Fontenots cases, judges issued rulings excoriating investigators for withholding favorable evidence from defense 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. Tommy Ward was one of two men serving a life sentence for the 1984 murder of Denice Haraway in Ada. The. 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. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. info@tommywardmusic.com | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. 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. Justices may determine before the courts term ends this summer whether to review the case. But one day before Ward's release, a temporary stay,. Newson6.com is proud to provide Oklahomans with timely and relevant news and information, 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. 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. - BART TORRES, 99.7FM The Highway Vibe. Fontenot is free on bond as the appeals process plays out. Tweet Fontenot was released from prison about one year ago after a federal judge found he also didnt receive a fair trial. The convictions were based almost entirely on accounts they said they retrieved from dreams. 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. I didnt even know what the word 'statement' or 'confessing' meant 'til they told me I confessed to it. mail Ward and Fontenot were sentenced to death on January 21, 1985 after being found guilty of murdering Haraway. Karl Fontenot, Tommy Ward. 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. Oklahomas Court of Criminal Appeals, however, argued that the district court had abused its discretion in that instance. 2022 Reader's Choice Winners . 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. 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. She doesnt believe he could be given a fair trial after more than 30 years. Get all your true crime news from Oxygen. remains wrongfully imprisoned . 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. Its clear as day.. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial.

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