Court rules ‘Innocent Man’ defendant to remain imprisoned

OKLAHOMA CITY >> 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.

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.

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.

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 Ward’s release.

“The Pontotoc County

District Attorney’s 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 ev idence,” Judge Paula Inge wrote in her December order. “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 Oklahoma attorney general’s office, which appealed Inge’s order, declined to comment on Thursday’s ruling.

“I’m still holding out hope that the attorney general of Oklahoma will change course here, take a close look at the case,” said Greg Swygert, one of Ward’s attorneys. “When you read their briefs, they don’t take issue with the fact that this information was withheld from him. They can’t. It’s clear as day.”