‘Innocent Man’ defendant to remain imprisoned while state appeals

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A man who has spent more than 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.

The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled on Thursday that 60-year-old Tommy Ward must remain imprisoned while the state appeals the lower court’s ruling.

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. Fontenot was ordered released in 2019, and the state is also appealing that order.