1 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: Hey guys, it's Laura and I Writer. In Season two 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: of False Confessions, we brought you the stunning story of 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: Tommy Ward, and unfortunately I have some sad news to 4 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:17,959 Speaker 1: share about his case. In January twenty twenty one, a 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: district judge at the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals gave 6 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:24,079 Speaker 1: us the news we were all hoping for and vacated 7 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: Tommy's conviction, but he waited in prison still while the 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,040 Speaker 1: state appealed that decision. Sadly, justice hasn't yet been served. 9 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: This innocent man is still in prison. The state won 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: their appeal reinstating Tommy's conviction in twenty twenty two, and 11 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,239 Speaker 1: as of this update, Tommy and his legal team are 12 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,600 Speaker 1: preparing to file again with the federal courts. Tommy, We're 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: all hoping that the courts get it right this time 14 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 1: and grant you the freedom you deserve. Keep fighting and 15 00:00:53,240 --> 00:01:01,600 Speaker 1: stay strong. Welcome to Wrongful Conviction, False Confessions. I'm Laura 16 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,520 Speaker 1: and I Writer, and I'm Steve Dressing. In nineteen eighty four, 17 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 1: a woman from Ada, Oklahoma, went missing. A few months later, 18 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: a man named Tommy Ward told police that he'd had 19 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 1: a bad dream about her murder. Incredibly, the police took 20 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: that dream and turned it into a false confession. Tommy 21 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,880 Speaker 1: Ward's story has fascinated the world. In two thousand and six, 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: the author John Grisham wrote a book about Tommy and 23 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,880 Speaker 1: his co defendant, Carl Fontaneau. John's career as a writer 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: was changed by Tommy and Carl's case, but he's not 25 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: the only one who's been moved by it. A few 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: years ago, their story was made into a Netflix global 27 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: series called The Innocent Man. Now the whole world has 28 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 1: been moved too. It's our honor to be part of 29 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: the fight to exonerate Tommy Ward and Carl Fonteneau. Here's 30 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: hoping we can deliver a wake up call in this 31 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: nightmare of a case. 32 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 2: I'm John Grisham, author of a number of legal thrillers 33 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 2: and one work of nonfiction. About fifteen years ago, I 34 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 2: found myself in Ada, Oklahoma, doing the research for a 35 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:23,400 Speaker 2: nonfiction book that was eventually titled The Innocent Man. It's 36 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 2: just a truly fascinating case because there were no clues, 37 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 2: there were no witnesses, there was no body, there was 38 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,519 Speaker 2: no corpse, there was no murder weapon, there was nothing 39 00:02:33,120 --> 00:02:36,480 Speaker 2: for Tommy Wiard confessed to the crime, and from. 40 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 3: That moment on he was a guilty man. 41 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:41,639 Speaker 2: The judge allowed this case to go forward without a body. 42 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 2: Even on my most creative days, I'm not sure I 43 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 2: could create stuff like this. 44 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:52,800 Speaker 3: Once I started researching Tommy's case Carl's case, I realized 45 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:56,760 Speaker 3: that there are thousands of innocent people in prison, and 46 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:00,120 Speaker 3: I've never realized that before. At that point I moved away, 47 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:05,400 Speaker 3: for the most part, from suspense intrigue thrillers to something 48 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:09,959 Speaker 3: still similar but much more issue driven capital punishment, wrong 49 00:03:10,040 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 3: for confiction, mass incarceration, the issues I care about in 50 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 3: the criminal justice system and the injustices that we tolerate 51 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 3: when we could fix this stuff if we had the will. 52 00:03:19,680 --> 00:03:20,079 Speaker 4: To do it. 53 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 2: So, the Tommy Willard Carl Fontina case had a profound 54 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:24,520 Speaker 2: impact on me as a writer. 55 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: You know, Steve John Grisham's right in this case, the 56 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,240 Speaker 1: truth really is stranger than fiction. This is one of 57 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: the most bizarre kinds of false confessions you can imagine. 58 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,280 Speaker 4: This case is fascinating because it is about a dream 59 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 4: that is converted by police officers into a confession. Cases 60 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:44,880 Speaker 4: like this are extremely. 61 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: Rare, right, I mean, how many dream cases do you 62 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: know about. 63 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,880 Speaker 4: I've studied hundreds of false confessions and maybe there's a dozen. 64 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: Of them to our listeners. If you haven't heard this story, 65 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: get ready, it's an incredible one. If you have read 66 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: John Grisham's book or seen the Netflix series, we have 67 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:02,160 Speaker 1: some new developments to share with you. 68 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 4: Because attorneys at the Center on Wrongful Convictions, the organization 69 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:11,680 Speaker 4: You and I Codirect have uncovered new information that makes 70 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 4: it clear that Tommy Ward is innocent, but. 71 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 1: He's still in prison. He's been there for thirty five years. 72 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:25,719 Speaker 1: He needs to come home now, right now. Tommy's story 73 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: starts in the town of Ada, a rural Oklahoma community 74 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,799 Speaker 1: of about seventeen thousand people. It's a Bible belt town 75 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: where the churches are full but the factories are empty. 76 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: In Aida, poverty can sometimes make justice seem like a 77 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:45,320 Speaker 1: faraway dream. In nineteen eighty four, Denise Harroway was one 78 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: of Ada's seventeen thousand people. Denise was twenty four years old, 79 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,120 Speaker 1: a petite, blonde woman who'd recently gotten married. She was 80 00:04:53,200 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: enrolled in college and helped pay tuition by working the 81 00:04:56,160 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: evening shift by herself at mckinellly's convenience store, but when 82 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,800 Speaker 1: customers walked into mcinally's at eight fifty pm on April 83 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, they found an open cash register and no 84 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: attendant in sight. Denise had vanished. There'd be no sign 85 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: of her for a year and a half. Ada police 86 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,760 Speaker 1: started investigating Denise's disappearance, and right away they suspected foul play. 87 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: A customer who'd been at mcinally's earlier that evening told 88 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,799 Speaker 1: police he'd seen Denise leave the store with a strange 89 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: man who drove her away in a pickup truck. Police 90 00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 1: also spoke to a female clerk at a different nearby 91 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:40,840 Speaker 1: convenience store. She reported that a few hours before Denise disappeared, 92 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,839 Speaker 1: two men came into her store. They were rowdy, she said, 93 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: and kept buying alcohol. They made her nervous. She gave 94 00:05:49,279 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: the cops some rough descriptions, and a police artist made 95 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,760 Speaker 1: two composite sketches. In terms of evidence, that was it. 96 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: No one knew what happened to Denise. There was no body, 97 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: no sightings, no nothing. Police showed the composite sketches on 98 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: TV and asked for the public's help. Dozens of tips 99 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: were phoned in a few callers thought that the sketches 100 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: looked a little bit like a twenty four year old 101 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: Ada man named Tommy Ward. 102 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:17,760 Speaker 4: Now. 103 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:21,599 Speaker 1: The Ward family was poor. They lived on Ada's South Side, 104 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,080 Speaker 1: in the part of town that everyone knew was on 105 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: the wrong side of the tracks. Growing up, there were 106 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: eight kids in the house. Tommy was number seven. Everyone 107 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: children included was expected to pitch in to keep the 108 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: lights on and the rent paid. The older kids would work, 109 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:41,520 Speaker 1: the younger kids would spend hot Oklahoma summers walking along 110 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,600 Speaker 1: the highway searching for empty beer cans that they could 111 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 1: turn in for a five cent deposit. The Wards were 112 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,880 Speaker 1: a law abiding family. When Tommy was a teenager, he'd 113 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: been arrested a few times for petty crimes like public drunkenness, 114 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: but nothing serious. The idea of him suddenly kidnapping Denise 115 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: Harroway was pretty crazy. Despite this, police brought Tommy in 116 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: for questioning just a few days after Denise's disappearance. Tommy 117 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: told them he had nothing to do with Denise. In fact, 118 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: he said on the night she disappeared, he was at 119 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: a keg party out of town twenty five miles away. 120 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: Police released Tommy and tracked down some other partygoers, several 121 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: of them confirmed Tommy's alibi, but police also caught wind 122 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: of a rumor that had been spreading around town. Tommy 123 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:34,360 Speaker 1: supposedly told others at the party that he'd done something terrible. 124 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: That one word was apparently enough to make the cops 125 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: think that Tommy had killed Denise. They bring Tommy back 126 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: to the station months later, on October eighteenth, nineteen eighty four, 127 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: for what would become nine hours of interrogation. Who killed 128 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 1: that girl? Did you kill her? You thought she was pretty, 129 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: didn't you. The questions come fast and furious, but Tommy 130 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 1: still denied having anything to do with Denise's disappearance. He 131 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: reminds his interrogators of his alibi, but they administer a polygraph. 132 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: They falsely tell Tommy that it proved he'd been lying. 133 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: That's when the interrogation turns nightmarish. Tommy tells the cops 134 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,800 Speaker 1: that maybe he failed the polygraph because he was nervous. 135 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: In fact, he says, knowing he was a suspect in 136 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: this case had upset him so much that he had 137 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:28,880 Speaker 1: a bad dream. Tell us about your dream, the police say, 138 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: and Tommy does. In the dream, Tommy was out by 139 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: Ada's local power plants, sitting in a pickup truck with 140 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: three people he didn't know, two men and a woman. 141 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,719 Speaker 1: One of the men tried to kiss the woman and 142 00:08:43,800 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: Tommy told him to back off. Then Tommy said he 143 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: wanted to go home. You're already home, the man answered. Suddenly, 144 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 1: Tommy was standing at his kitchen sink trying to scrub 145 00:08:54,520 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: a dark liquid off his hands. The cops pounced. They say, 146 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,240 Speaker 1: matches the facts of the case. There's a pickup truck 147 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: in your dream, and we believe Denise was kidnapped in 148 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,880 Speaker 1: a pickup truck. It doesn't make sense to say this 149 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:12,600 Speaker 1: was just a dream. They say. You know what does 150 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: make sense, you and these other two men killing Denise. 151 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:21,520 Speaker 1: So where did the story in Tommy's dream come from? 152 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,439 Speaker 1: Turns out a few days before this nine hour interrogation, 153 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:28,959 Speaker 1: police had briefly talked to Tommy, and during. 154 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 4: That questioning, the police officers said to Tommy, use your 155 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,800 Speaker 4: imagination for just a moment. This girl was taken out 156 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:41,800 Speaker 4: of a grocery store at night. Two guys come in 157 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:44,679 Speaker 4: and got her, and they'd gotten a pickup and they 158 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 4: drove away. A beautiful girl like that. Maybe they raped 159 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 4: her before they killed her. That is a direct quote 160 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 4: from these detectives. The police officers had planted the core 161 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 4: ideas of this crime in Tommy's mind, including the pickup truck, 162 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 4: which remember as a detail that a witness had already 163 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 4: told them about, and Tommy began to have nightmares about 164 00:10:08,840 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 4: the story the police told him. 165 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:15,480 Speaker 1: The interrogation continues for hours. Police tell Tommy he'll get 166 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,480 Speaker 1: the death penalty if he doesn't confess to killing Denise. Eventually, 167 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: Tommy caves. He starts changing his dream to include what 168 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,560 Speaker 1: the police tell him. In his dream, he says he 169 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: did recognize the other guys. They were two eight of 170 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: men named Carl Fontaneau and Odell Titsworth. He dreamed that 171 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: they'd robbed Mcanelli's together, that they'd kidnapped Denise and raped 172 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:42,439 Speaker 1: her in a pickup truck. They stabbed her in the 173 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: dream too, he says, and left her body in a 174 00:10:45,320 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: culvert by the power plant. After nine hours of this, 175 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:53,560 Speaker 1: police bring in a video camera. According to Tommy, they say, 176 00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:57,079 Speaker 1: time to cut the dream. Bullshit. This wasn't something you dreamed, 177 00:10:57,360 --> 00:10:58,760 Speaker 1: it was something you did. 178 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 2: Tommy. You have the power plant where nay share? Why 179 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,839 Speaker 2: did you go to the para plant It's worth and 180 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 2: pulled over. 181 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: Tommy finds himself repeating the whole story on camera, not 182 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: as a dream, but as cold hard reality. 183 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:19,240 Speaker 4: It was the first person in the door. 184 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:21,840 Speaker 2: Did he have any weapons? 185 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 4: They told me that he was going to kill her. 186 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 5: That's where got out. 187 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 2: To you understand how serious this investigation is. 188 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: Incredibly, the police have transformed Tommy's dream into a murder confession. 189 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:39,199 Speaker 4: Let's talk a little bit about dream statements. You know, 190 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 4: there comes a point in every interrogation where the police 191 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 4: officers have tried to get the suspect to confess, and 192 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 4: the suspect just says, well, I have no memory of 193 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 4: committing this crime, or I can't help you. I wasn't there. 194 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 4: And then either the police officers suggest to the suspect 195 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 4: have you had any dreams about this case? Or the 196 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,839 Speaker 4: suspect will suggest on his own accord, you know, I 197 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 4: have had some dreams about this And what that does 198 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 4: is it gives police officers something to exploit. It allows 199 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:22,200 Speaker 4: the conversation to continue, and the police officers end up 200 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,959 Speaker 4: converting what was a dream into a confession. 201 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,040 Speaker 1: During Tommy's videotaped statement, the only lingering reference to any 202 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,600 Speaker 1: of this being a dream comes at the very end. 203 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: Is there anything else you want to add? Police ask him. 204 00:12:37,880 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: I thought it was just a dream. Tommy quietly says he. 205 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 4: Always thought that the police officers would recognize this is 206 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:52,320 Speaker 4: not reality. Go out investigate the case, and you're going 207 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 4: to find out that this is all a bunch of horseship. 208 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,600 Speaker 1: Based on his so called confession, Tommy Ward found himself 209 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: in jail, charged with capital murder, and the investigation that's 210 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 1: to come, well, horseshit is exactly the right word. 211 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 5: I was stationed on an aircraft current when my sister 212 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:25,839 Speaker 5: called and started telling me that they got Tommy for this. 213 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 4: It was not a good day. 214 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:32,360 Speaker 1: That's Melvin Ward, one of Tommy's older brothers. He was 215 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: in the service when he found out that Tommy had 216 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: been arrested, and he flew back to Ada right away. 217 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 5: I did not believe it. I thought, well, you know, 218 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 5: he's going to get awf on this because I know 219 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:45,360 Speaker 5: he didn't do it. It's not Tommy's character to do 220 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:45,959 Speaker 5: something like this. 221 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 4: He was not a bad kid. 222 00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 5: He'd never heard anybody. He'd stayed out of trouble other 223 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,920 Speaker 5: than a few public drunks. Tommy would have been the 224 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000 Speaker 5: kind of person that if somebody was attacking this lady, 225 00:13:58,559 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 5: he would have been there to protect her. 226 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 4: That's Tommy. 227 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 5: Tommy did nothing for them to go after him like 228 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,080 Speaker 5: they did, other than we living on another side track. 229 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,080 Speaker 5: We was not in the proper society at the time. 230 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 5: They believed that Tommy was guilty and they was going 231 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:19,000 Speaker 5: to pull no stops to get into confess, and that's 232 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,200 Speaker 5: not proper police work at all. 233 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: Tommy wasn't the only person from the wrong side of 234 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:28,640 Speaker 1: the tracks who got ensnared in this case. Within hours, 235 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: police arrest Tommy's dream accomplices, Carl Fontano and Odell Titsworth 236 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: and questioned them both. Carl was twenty years old, a 237 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:42,640 Speaker 1: friend of Tommy's who was seriously intellectually disabled and pretty 238 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:43,760 Speaker 1: much alone in the world. 239 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 5: Carl was a nice guy. I know my mom liked him, 240 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 5: and my mom bless her heart, she was a good 241 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 5: judge character. At the time, she was working at one 242 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:55,200 Speaker 5: of the convenience stores down there in Ada, and the 243 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 5: kid would come in and he didn't have much of 244 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 5: the family. She would give him a sandwich from a 245 00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 5: the story every now and then and I think Tommy 246 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 5: met Carl by he was sleeping on my sister's front porch. 247 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:10,800 Speaker 5: Tommy kind of took Carl on his wing, and uh, 248 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 5: they become friends. 249 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,840 Speaker 1: To understand how Carl's interrogation went down, you need to 250 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,280 Speaker 1: know that a few months earlier, Carl had witnessed his 251 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,400 Speaker 1: own mother's death. The two of them had been driving 252 00:15:23,480 --> 00:15:26,680 Speaker 1: on the highway when their car broke down. Carl's mom 253 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: got out and headed for a nearby restaurant to call 254 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: for help, but as she was crossing the highway, she 255 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 1: was hit and killed by another car. Carl felt terrible guilt. 256 00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,240 Speaker 1: He blamed himself for not being the one who'd gone 257 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: for help. It was that sense of guilt, along with 258 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: his disability, that police used to manipulate Carl during his interrogation. 259 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,400 Speaker 1: The police suggested that Carl should make amends for his 260 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: mom's death by saying he was involved in Denise's death. 261 00:15:56,800 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 4: Can you imagine the trauma he must have been experiencing 262 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 4: he saw his mother die. The police officers used that 263 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:11,359 Speaker 4: prior traumatic event to help break down Carl into accepting 264 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,840 Speaker 4: responsibility for Denise's death, and he caved much sooner than 265 00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 4: Tommy did. 266 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,080 Speaker 1: Just like with Tommy. Police took a videotaped statement from Carl. 267 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: In it, he agreed that he helped Odell Titsworth and 268 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: Tommy Ward rape and stabbed Denise. 269 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 4: Carl, let me ask you this, at any point in time, 270 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 4: did you stab her? No? 271 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 2: I did not, nor did Tommy Odell done all this 272 00:16:36,520 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 2: day right there? 273 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:40,600 Speaker 4: Did y'all try to stop him from stander? 274 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 3: No? 275 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 1: Carl even said they'd burned her body afterwards. 276 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 2: Who spread the gas? 277 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:47,160 Speaker 4: Odell? 278 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 2: He poured all the gas on her air side and 279 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 2: went threw the match on her and walked out, and 280 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 2: then I asked to burn up on either side. 281 00:16:56,360 --> 00:17:00,840 Speaker 1: Based on this confession, Carl Fontaneau was charged with Denise's death, 282 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:02,360 Speaker 1: right alongside Tommy. 283 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,760 Speaker 5: Knowing that Tommy was innocent. That made me know that 284 00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 5: Carl was innocent. Tommy, it took him almost nine hours 285 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 5: to break him down, and Carl he was a little 286 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 5: bit more acceptible to their interrogation. Now they could higher 287 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 5: in forty five minutes. 288 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:21,800 Speaker 1: But the supposed third guy, Odell Titsworth, well, he's another story. 289 00:17:22,320 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: Odell was a four time convicted felon with experience in 290 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 1: the interrogation room. When police questioned him about Denise. He 291 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,119 Speaker 1: doesn't budge an inch. I don't care what Ward and 292 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,399 Speaker 1: Fontineau say. He insists I had nothing to do with 293 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:40,879 Speaker 1: Denise's disappearance. Now Odell is thrown in jail anyway, but 294 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,360 Speaker 1: pretty soon it becomes clear that he's got a great alibi. 295 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 1: Two days before Denise's disappearance, Odell had an altercation with 296 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:53,399 Speaker 1: the police and they'd broken his arm badly. On the 297 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,520 Speaker 1: night Denise disappeared, Odell Titsworth was laid up with a 298 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: spiral fracture struggle with a grown woman, hold her down 299 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: and rape her, stab her. It was physically impossible. Odell 300 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:06,479 Speaker 1: was cleared. 301 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 5: This is one point I've always trying to wrap around 302 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 5: people's head. If they were not being fed information, how 303 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 5: did both of them boys come up with a totally 304 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,879 Speaker 5: innocent man's name. He can't happen, see what I'm saying. 305 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: While Odell Titsworth got to go home, Tommy and Carl 306 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:28,520 Speaker 1: weren't so lucky. Prosecutors pressed forward with cases against Tommy 307 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:31,720 Speaker 1: and Carl, even though their confessions turned out to be 308 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: wildly different. The confessions didn't agree on who raped Denise, 309 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,840 Speaker 1: where she was stabbed, or when she died, and when 310 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 1: it came to the big question where was Denise? The 311 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: confessions disagreed there too. Remember, Tommy said they'd left her 312 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 1: body in a culvert near the power plant, but Carl 313 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 1: said they'd burned Denise's body in an abandoned house, and 314 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: then they burned the house down too. The authorities checked 315 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 1: out both stories, but they found no sign of Denise 316 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,800 Speaker 1: in either the culvert or the abandoned house. In fact, 317 00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 1: Carl's abandoned house actually burned down ten months before Denise disappeared. 318 00:19:09,480 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: Their confessions just didn't match reality. In a last ditch 319 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:17,320 Speaker 1: effort to get Carl to clean up his story, police 320 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:19,280 Speaker 1: try something pretty outrageous. 321 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 4: So Carl is sitting in jail, he's just confessed to 322 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,439 Speaker 4: this crime, and the police officers go to a local 323 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 4: university and gather a bunch of. 324 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: Bones from the science lab human bones. 325 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:39,440 Speaker 4: And they bring this bag of bones into the jail 326 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:44,159 Speaker 4: and they say, we found Denise Haraway's skull where you 327 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 4: said it was, but we can't find the rest of 328 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:51,120 Speaker 4: her body. And Carl can't answer the question. He says, 329 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,200 Speaker 4: I wish I could help, but I don't know where 330 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,360 Speaker 4: her body is Carl's terrified. 331 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 1: He can't tell him a thing. 332 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 4: I mean, what the fuck is this. I've never seen 333 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,879 Speaker 4: this before, Lara, this is just beyond the pale. 334 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 1: Carl and Tommy were tried together on September twenty fourth, 335 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:20,120 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty five. At trial, prosecutors called a mcinally's customer 336 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,160 Speaker 1: named James Moyer. Moyer testified that he'd seen someone who 337 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 1: looked like Tommy Ward in the store an hour before 338 00:20:27,400 --> 00:20:32,440 Speaker 1: Denise disappeared. That's pretty thin evidence, but the prosecutors had more. 339 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: As the centerpiece of the trial, they played Tommy and 340 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: Carl's confession tapes for the jury. Prosecutors conceded that, sure, 341 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:44,000 Speaker 1: Tommy and Carl got a lot of things wrong, Sure 342 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:46,960 Speaker 1: their confessions were false when it came to Odell's involvement, 343 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:49,719 Speaker 1: and sure the facts that they seemed to get right, 344 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: like the pickup truck, had been fed to them by 345 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:56,920 Speaker 1: their interrogators. But set all that aside, prosecutors said, we've 346 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: got proof. They said that Tommy and Carl's confession are reliable, 347 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 1: a real ace in the hole. So what was that proof? 348 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: Prosecutors argued that Tommy and Carl's confessions could be trusted 349 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:16,399 Speaker 1: because they both accurately described what Denise was wearing the 350 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: night she disappeared. During Tommy's confession, he said Denise was 351 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:23,480 Speaker 1: wearing a button up blouse with little blue roses on 352 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: it and lace on the collar and sleeves. Similarly, Carl 353 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:30,119 Speaker 1: had said she was wearing a button up blouse with 354 00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,400 Speaker 1: ruffles on the collar and elastic on the sleeves. Now, 355 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 1: prosecutors said at the time of the confessions the police 356 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,600 Speaker 1: had no idea what Denise had been wearing, so the 357 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,320 Speaker 1: interrogators couldn't have fed details about the blouse to Tommy 358 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:49,680 Speaker 1: and Carl. The only explanation for Tommy and Carl's matching 359 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: stories was that they had both actually been with Denise 360 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: that night. To really clinch the case, Denise's sister took 361 00:21:57,840 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: the stand and revealed that Denise did own a blouse 362 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,400 Speaker 1: with blue flowers and a lacey ruffled collar. Also after 363 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,399 Speaker 1: Denise disappeared, the sister reported that that blouse was missing 364 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 1: from Denise's closet. Denise's sister said she hadn't told police 365 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 1: about the missing blouse until after Tommy and Carl confessed. 366 00:22:18,280 --> 00:22:22,520 Speaker 4: Going into trial, the police and prosecutors have two confessions 367 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 4: that are at odds with the objectively noble facts of 368 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:31,560 Speaker 4: the crime. There's no corroboration of this confession, and it's 369 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 4: filled with errors, But the police have one fact that 370 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,680 Speaker 4: is the anchor of their case. The defense counsel had 371 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 4: no explanation for why both Tommy and Carl independently had 372 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,320 Speaker 4: described Denise's missing blouse the same way. 373 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: That anchor ended up taking both Tommy and Carl down. 374 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,679 Speaker 1: On day thirteen of the trial, the jury returned a verdict. 375 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,879 Speaker 1: Both men were guilty of murdering Denise Harroway. Shortly afterwards, 376 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 1: the judge sentenced Tommy Ward and Carl Fontana to death. 377 00:23:08,160 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 5: The district attorney got a conviction on his boys because 378 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 5: the description of the shirt that supposedly no one knew 379 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:18,919 Speaker 5: at the time of their confessions. I knew that Tommy 380 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:23,119 Speaker 5: and Carl was but having tom and Carl both to 381 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 5: say something about that shirt that was a pretty hard 382 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:26,960 Speaker 5: thing to get passed. 383 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 4: These men were sentenced to death on the basis of 384 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:35,320 Speaker 4: a single fact, a description of a blouse. Tommy and 385 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:38,199 Speaker 4: Carl were able to lead police to evidence that they 386 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,480 Speaker 4: didn't already have. I mean, these are the kinds of 387 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:45,120 Speaker 4: facts that you and I look at when we assess 388 00:23:45,200 --> 00:23:49,080 Speaker 4: the reliability of a confession, Laura, and if police don't 389 00:23:49,240 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 4: know information and the suspect leads them to it, that's 390 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,560 Speaker 4: a red flag for a reliable confession. 391 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,240 Speaker 1: How could Tommy and Carl have been wrong about so 392 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 1: many facts yet right about this fact despite it all, 393 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:10,040 Speaker 1: Could they possibly be guilty? It's sure looked that way, 394 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:13,920 Speaker 1: at least at first, decades would pass before we found 395 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: out the truth. There's so much more to this case, 396 00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,479 Speaker 1: more than we can tell you today. So join us 397 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: next week as we close our second season, we'll bring 398 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,920 Speaker 1: you part two of the story of Tommy Ward and 399 00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: Carl Fontaneau. Wrongful Conviction, False Confessions is a production of 400 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,120 Speaker 1: Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Company Number 401 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,159 Speaker 1: one Special thanks to our executive producers Jason Flamm and 402 00:24:42,320 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: Kevin Wardis. Our production team is headed by senior producer 403 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,600 Speaker 1: An Pope, along with producers Joshi Hammer and Jess Shane. 404 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: Our show is mixed by Genie Montalvo. John Colbert is 405 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,640 Speaker 1: our intrepid intern. Our music was composed by Jay Ralph. 406 00:24:57,359 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: You can follow me on Instagram or Twitter at Laura 407 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,119 Speaker 1: and I writer, and you can follow me. 408 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,360 Speaker 4: On Twitter at Sdrizzen. 409 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,640 Speaker 1: For more information on the show, visit wrongfulconvictionpodcast dot com. 410 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: Be sure to follow the show on Instagram at Wrongful Conviction, 411 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,440 Speaker 1: on Facebook at Wrongful Conviction Podcast, and on Twitter at 412 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:18,360 Speaker 1: wrong Conviction