Court rules 'Innocent Man' defendant to remain imprisoned
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 โ A man who has spent 35 years in prison in a murder case featured in the book and television series โThe Innocent Manโ 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 courtโs 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 menโs confessions were proven untrue โ Harawayโs body was discovered years later in a different location and had been shot to death not stabbed as the pair had said โ a state appeals court ordered new trials.
Houston judge Jesse McClure appointed to Texas Court of Criminal Appeals by Gov. Greg Abbott
Jesse McClure, a trial judge on a criminal court in Houston, will join the stateโs highest court for criminal matters in the new year. Greg Abbott appointed McClure, a Republican, to the Court of Criminal Appeals, where he will fill a seat being vacated by Judge Michael Keasler. McClure said heโs looking forward to joining the appellate court, where he hopes his experience on the trial bench will serve him well. Best known for its role in death penalty cases, the court is Texasโ last word on criminal matters. A Texas law that requires judges to retire within a few years of turning 75 forced Keasler to step down partway through his six-year term.