Books Related to the Ward and Fontenot Case And If They Did It....

I thought it would be interesting to do this interesting post, "If They Did It" or "Why You Could NEVER Convince Me" and you as a reader finish it. To do this go to the bottom of post and click on the small word comments below and add your story. If approved I will post it. I can not edit comments, so please use spell check. If "THEY", meaning Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot are the real killers of Denice Haraway.

Tommy Ward's Dream Gets Him Death Penalty - A Cousin Starts a Blog For Help

Please Help My Cousin Prove His Innocence

My cousin Tommy Ward was wrongfully convicted of Murder over 20 years ago. Despite evidence, he was convicted because of a dream he had about the event. The details of his dream/confession were nowhere close to matching the actual events of the victims death, rape, or the location of her body. My family and I have been stripped of the joys of having Tommy in our lives for far too long. He has been denied a wonderful life because the justice system needed someone to blame for the crime.

Persons with information about the Denice Haraway homicide may send e-mail to:
barrettlawoffice@gmail.com
Or write to:
Mark Barrett, Attorney
P.O. Box 896
Norman, Oklahoma 73070

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

~Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot were convicted of murdering Denise Haraway. Haraway, 24, worked part-time at McAnally’s convenience store in Ada, Oklahoma. She was last seen leaving the store on April 28, 1984, with a man who had his arm around her waist. The two appeared to be a pair of lovers. The store was found deserted with the cash register drawer opened and emptied. Haraway’s purse and driver’s license were found inside, and her car nearby.

~Months later, after Haraway still remained missing, police questioned Tommy Ward, who resembled the man accompanying Haraway from the store. After days of interrogation, Ward confessed to the crime.

He also implicated his friend, Karl Fontenot, and Odell Titsworth, a man he never met. During the videotaped confession, Ward frequently forgot Titsworth’s name and called him “Titsdale.” Ward said the three gang-raped Haraway, murdered her with Titsworth’s knife, and dumped her body near Sandy Creek.

~Fontenot was soon arrested and confessed after only two hours of interrogation. His confession was similar to Ward’s but contradicted it many details, like the order in which the three raped Haraway, or the location and number of stab wounds on her. Fontenot said the three brought Haraway into an abandoned house, where Titsworth poured gasoline over her body and burned down the house. Ward had mentioned a burned down house in an earlier unrecorded confession, and police knew it existed.

~Titsworth was arrested, but he had broken his arm two days before the murder in a fight with police. Medical and police records made him an unlikely suspect, and he was never charged with murder. While police were sifting through the remains of the burned down house, the owner appeared. After police told him of Fontenot’s confession, the owner said Fontenot’s story was impossible, as he himself had burned down the house 10 months before the murder.

~At trial, the prosecutor presented the confessions and was forced into the position of telling the jury the defendants were lying about details while asking the jury to believe them anyway.

Two jailhouse informants supplemented the confessions. One said Ward confessed, while the other said he overheard Fontenot talking to himself, saying, “I knew we’d get caught. I knew we’d get caught.”
The jurors returned with guilty verdicts and death penalties.

~Haraway’s body was found four month’s later in Hughes County, far from anyplace that was searched. She had not been stabbed or burned, but died from a single gunshot to the head.

Other Links of Importance:
http://journeytowardjusticebookexcerpts.blogspot.com/
http://www.wardandfontenot.com/about.html
http://barbarasblogspot.blogspot.com/2007/05/karl-fontenot-and-tommy-ward-deserve.html
http://www.nysda.org/Publications/06_DreamsofAda.pdf

There are three books about this and other wrongful convictions by ex-DA Bill Peterson of Pontotoc County, Oklahoma.

The First is titled, "The Dreams of Ada", Author Robert Mayer, next two are:

"Journey Towards Justice", Author Dennis Fritz,

and "The Innocent Man" , Author John Grisham.

Please help spread the word about this tragedy that has been plaguing my family for over two decades.

Your comments are very much appreciated.

Thank you,
Stacy

(cousin of Tommy Ward)

My Blog Here Please Help My Cousin Tommy Ward Is Innocent

Tommy Ward The Confession and Comments From Family

Today I received another comment on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice, from a family member of Tommy Ward.
Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot were convicted of murdering Denice Haraway. Haraway, 24, worked part-time at McAnally’s convenience store in Ada, Oklahoma, USA.
John Grisham describes how they finally cracked the case:
After two hours of non-stop hammering, Tommy finally cracked. The pressure came from fear – Smith and Rogers (the police detectives) were angry and seemed perfectly able and willing to slap him around if not outright shoot him – but also from the horror of wasting away on death row before finally getting executed. And it was obvious to Tommy that he would not be allowed to leave until he gave the cops something. After five hours in the room, he was exhausted, confused, and almost paralyzed with fear. He made a mistake, one that would send him to death row and eventually cost him his freedom for life.

Tommy decided to play along… more..
Tommy was brain-dead and barely able to mumble. He tried to recite their tale, but kept getting the facts mixed up. Smith and Rogers would stop him, repeat their fiction, and make him start over. Finally, after four rehearsals with little improvement and their star fading fast, the cops decided to turn on the camera. “Do it now”, they said to Tommy. "Do it right, and none of that dream bullshit."

“But the story ain’t true”, Tommy said. “Just tell it anyway, the cops insisted, then we’ll help you prove it’s not true. And none of that dream bullshit.”…

At 6:58 p.m. Tommy Ward looked at the camera and stated his name. He had been interrogated for eight and a half hours, and he was physically and emotionally wasted… He told his tale. He, Karl Fontenot, and Odell Titsworth kidnapped Denice Haraway from the store, drove out to the power plant on the west side of town, raped her, killed her… Thirty-one minutes later the video was turned off.. END

The “confession” Tommy Ward made to the police wasn’t quite a confession, since the crime as he described it took place in a dream, rather than in real life. The policemen were unable to find the body where Tommy described it in his dream. Smith and Rogers used similar methods to get a confession out of Karl Fontenot.Tommy and Karl have been incarcerated about 22 years.
Tommy is serving a life sentence. Karl's sentence: life without parole.
As they serve another man's sentence, the real killer walks free.
Please read the heartbreaking comments his family made on my blog, Barbara's Journey Toward Justice
Here is one of them:

I am one of Tommy Ward's first cousins. My cousin... I am one of Tommy Ward's first cousins. My cousin Joice is a strong woman and very vocal, she is not afraid to tell it like it is. Tommy's case had really put a rift between some of our relatives. My family and Tommy's have always stood our ground and stood beside Tommy, in believing that Tommy is innocent. Tommy was really close to my Mom and Dad. What Joice told you is true. We want our families to be healed from this anguish and hell we have been going through for the past 22 years. My cousin was unable to have adequate council in the very beginning, because my aunt and uncle could not afford it. Our families didn't have much money, but what we lacked in money, we have in our faith. My hat off to Mr. Fritz too. Thank you for helping tell the world of this injustice.

Karl Fontenot and Tommy Ward Deserve Attention and Need Help - Contact Their Attorney Here With Information or Tips

After reading a Statement from John Grisham below, I felt a need to help Karl and Tommy. Authors of blogs and websites, please pass this information along.
"Never doubt that a small group of bloggers, the internet and concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it has." Quote Barbara Owens - Barbara's Journey Toward Justice

Statement of John Grisham
"It is an intriguing and horrifying story: the story of the dream that got Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot convicted.

Karl and Tommy deserve attention and help.

I encourage anyone with any information about this case to send it to their attorney.

It is important to learn from this nightmare. It is also important that this nightmare somehow be unraveled."

Contact The Attorney for Ward and Fontenot
End of Statement

This is from Ward and Fontenot website;

WHAT CAN BE DONE

Persons with information about the Denice Haraway homicide may send e-mail to:
barrettlawoffice at gmail.com
Or write to:

Mark Barrett, Attorney
P.O. Box 896
Norman, Oklahoma 73070

We are looking for anything that could help prove who is responsible for the death.
Assume that whatever you know or have heard is important. In particular, we are hoping to hear from people who, in 1984, lived near the place where the body was found. END
Haraway’s body was found in Hughes County, far from anyplace that was searched. A remote area twenty-five miles east of Ada. Oklahoma

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot were convicted of murdering Denise Haraway. Haraway, 24, worked part-time at McAnally’s convenience store in Ada, Oklahoma. She was last seen leaving the store on April 28, 1984, with a man who had his arm around her waist. The two appeared to be a pair of lovers. The store was found deserted with the cash register drawer opened and emptied. Haraway’s purse and driver’s license were found inside, and her car nearby.

Months later, after Haraway still remained missing, police questioned Tommy Ward, who resembled the man accompanying Haraway from the store. After days of interrogation, Ward confessed to the crime. He also implicated his friend, Karl Fontenot, and Odell Titsworth, a man he never met. During the videotaped confession, Ward frequently forgot Titsworth’s name and called him “Titsdale.” Ward said the three gang-raped Haraway, murdered her with Titsworth’s knife, and dumped her body near Sandy Creek.

Fontenot was soon arrested and confessed after only two hours of interrogation. His confession was similar to Ward’s but contradicted it many details, like the order in which the three raped Haraway, or the location and number of stab wounds on her. Fontenot said the three brought Haraway into an abandoned house, where Titsworth poured gasoline over her body and burned down the house. Ward had mentioned a burned down house in an earlier unrecorded confession, and police knew it existed.

Titsworth was arrested, but he had broken his arm two days before the murder in a fight with police. Medical and police records made him an unlikely suspect, and he was never charged with murder. While police were sifting through the remains of the burned down house, the owner appeared. After police told him of Fontenot’s confession, the owner said Fontenot’s story was impossible, as he himself had burned down the house 10 months before the murder.

At trial, the prosecutor presented the confessions and was forced into the position of telling the jury the defendants were lying about details while asking the jury to believe them anyway. Two jailhouse informants supplemented the confessions. One said Ward confessed, while the other said he overheard Fontenot talking to himself, saying, “I knew we’d get caught. I knew we’d get caught.” The jurors returned with guilty verdicts and death penalties.

Haraway’s body was found four month’s later in Hughes County, far from anyplace that was searched. She had not been stabbed or burned, but died from a single gunshot to the head. END

Some Interesting Facts;
District Attorney William Peterson had another jailhouse informant whose testimony would cement the Ward and Fontenot case Terri Holland.
Terri Holland claimed she overheard Karl Fontenot confessing, just as she heard Ron Williamson confess. John Grisham wrote about Ron Williamson's story in "The Innocent
Man". You can also read about her in Dennis Fritz's Book "Journey Toward Justice". Terri Holland jailhouse informant provided testimony in 2 Ada Oklamhoma murder cases. Dennis Fritz and Ron Williamson Murder Case and Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot Murder Case.

Besides her testimony in 2 murder cases, District Attorney Peterson had to ask a jury to believe two confessions that contradicted one another in almost every way, and both indicated the involvement of a third man that the police department never saw fit to file charges against.Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot received death sentences.
Ward and Fontenot were retried, they both received life sentences.

William Peterson still serves as District Attorney for the City of Ada.

Persons with information about the Denice Haraway homicide may send e-mail to:
____________________________
barrettlawoffice@gmail.com