Back in December a Ponotoc County judge overturned Wards conviction saying prosecutors withheld evidence in the case. Denice Haraway of Ada, Oklahoma went in for an ordinary day of work at her convenience store job on April 28, 1984. The convictions were based almost entirely on accounts they said they retrieved from dreams. John Grisham continues to correspond with both men. remains wrongfully imprisoned . 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! Ward's newly released EP "From This Moment On," (2022) produced by LeCoq Records, showcases his stunning vocal abilities . 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. He reminds me of working with Frank Sinatra in some strange way." 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. He's very disappointed that he's still in prison for a murder he didn't commit, Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, said Tuesday. However, she would never be seen alive again. 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. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reinstated Tommy Ward's murder conviction in an infamous 1984 case out of Ada. 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. 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. YOU'VE REACHED YOUR MONTHLY ARTICLE LIMIT. Newson6.com is proud to provide Oklahomans with timely and relevant news and information, 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.. Fontenot has been released pending a decision from the United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Want to support our mission to hold powerful people accountable, give a voice to the voiceless, and shine a light on darkness in Oklahoma? and his videos on social media have racked up millions of views. Also Read: 'The Innocent Man': Netflix Sets December Launch for Docuseries Based on John Grisham Book. Tommy has been recommended for parole at least twice, but turned down by the board in Oklahoma. 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. Please refer to our. Breaking news: Judge orders Tommy released and vacates his conviction. - STEVE WYNN, founder Wynn Resorts "I just saw Tommy in Las Vegas at a corporate event and I was BLOWN AWAY. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Tommy Ward, 60, to remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower courts ruling that he be released. 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. Fontenot, Wards co-defendant, was ordered released by a federal judge in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order. Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. 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! Courtesy Netflix. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. Oklahoma seeks to uphold the murder conviction of Karl Fontenot in the murder of Donna Denice Haraway. 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.. All rights reserved. It was based on the 2006 true-crime book The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham. Tommy Ward was one of two men serving a life sentence for the 1984 murder of Denice Haraway in Ada. In addition to his impressive performances, Ward has a true passion for music and the arts. The state also claims witnesses saw men matching Ward and Fontenots descriptions in the convenience store where Haraway worked before she disappeared. Fontenot was released from prison after a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled in 2019 that the state committed numerous constitutional violations. 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.. By, 'Deeply tainted': Oklahoma conservatives call for moratorium, abolition of the death penalty, Sheriff, jail health care provider seek public money to increase staff after two women died, AG Drummond orders independent counsel to review Glossip death penalty case, Oklahoma Attorney General requests more time in between executions. "Everything about their confession has been proven wrong by the discovery of the body," attorney Janet Davis noted in the documentary. 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. He is 54 years old and is being held at the at the North Fork Correctional Center in Sayre in Oklahoma. 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. 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'. More:Oklahoma Army veteran gets probation for role in Jan. 6 US Capitol riot. ADVERTISEMENT He is currently serving time at the Dick Conner Correctional Center in Hominy in Oklahoma. Ward has also had a widely celebrated opening act run for comedy legend Louie Anderson during his tenure at the Plaza Hotel. Position: WR Height: 6-0 Weight: 190 College: Rutgers Hometown: Canton, PA High School: Canton HS 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. She said police and prosecutors withheld evidence that would have assisted Wards defense. The attorney generals office now has 20 days to respond. Fontenots and Wards attorneys did not respond to requests for comment. John 3:16. OK man arrested for. The state court of criminal appeals voted unanimously to reinstate Tommy Ward's murder conviction. Attorneys for a man convicted for the 1984 kidnapping and murder of an Ada woman say they plan to file a federal case to try and overturn his conviction after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a lower court's order that would have made him a free man. 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. In a motion and brief filed Monday on behalf of Tommy Ward, one of two men convicted of Haraway's murder in Ada and who was featured in the John Grisham book the Innocent Man and 2018 Netflix. That evidence includes previously undisclosed suspects and whether police provided Ward with information about the victim's blouse, which prosecutors said he had described. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. The Oklahoma attorney general is appealing the ruling. Wards attorneys said its far too late for Ward to receive a fair trial. We promise to never spam you. Ward was convicted alongside Karl Fontenot for murdering Donna Harraway in Ada. Subscribe for the latest music videos, performances, and more!Tommy's new album "From This Moment On" available n. 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. 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. Fight for his release from jail crime Netflix Series was released back in 2018, and temporary. 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. 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. News 9 Team Holds Severe Weather Expo At Penn Square Mall, Sauced On The Paseo Re-Opens 2 Years After Fire, Read Across America Celebration Held At Belle Isle Library, 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 is the subject of a Netflix docuseries and a book by John Grisham. Attorneys representing Tommy Ward continue to fight for his release from jail. Advertisement On Friday, a judge vacated Ward's convictions and sentences, dismissed the charges and . 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. 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. An Oklahoma judge ruled that the case rested on circumstantial evidence. 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. Fontenot was sentenced to death again but Ward was sentenced to life in prison, according to The Oklahoman. . 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. 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. We are pressing forward exploring the possibility of going to federal court with additional appeals, Barrett said. 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. A federal judge in Muskogee overturned Fontenot's conviction in late 2019. Instead, she had died from a gunshot wound. 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 judge said newly discovered evidence about Fontenots alibi and other suspects in the murder provided solid proof of his probable innocence. Fontenot. 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. I didnt even know what the word 'statement' or 'confessing' meant 'til they told me I confessed to it. She was 24. More to come. sharing the stories, pictures and loves of Oklahomans across our great state. At time of writing, he is still serving his life sentence without the possibility of parole, and is now 54 years old. Haraway was working as a clerk in a convenience store when she went missing in Ada in 1984. Tommy Ward was scheduled to be released in December 2020, but . 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. 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. 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. Karl Fontenot, Tommy Ward. As a nonprofit news organization,The Frontieris funded by tax-deductible donations made by people who support quality journalism. In June this year, the US Supreme Court refused to take up the case and to examine the states appeal. 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. The judge also called the evidence against Ward circumstantial and said nearly all of the details in his confession were inaccurate. Ward's attorney, Mark Barrett, will also be filing an appeal for exoneration.