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.
(Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)OKLAHOMA CITY ā A man who has spent 35 years in prison in a murder case featured in the book and television series āThe Innocent Manā 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 courtās ruling that he be released.
Fontenot, Ward's co-defendant, was ordered released by a federal judge in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order.
After the details of both menās confessions were proven untrue ā Harawayās body was discovered years later in a different location and had been shot to death not stabbed as the pair had said ā a state appeals court ordered new trials.