Murder Hearing For Karl Fontenot, 'The Innocent Man' Set To Begin

Arguments in Karl Fontenot’s case will begin Tuesday in the U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals 10th Circuit in Denver.

Oklahoma’s Attorney General is appealing a judge’s ruling that Fontenot be released or be retried for a 1984 murder.

Fontenot is out of prison after serving 35 years of a life sentence for Denice Harraway’s murder in Ada.

His case gained national attention thanks to author John Grisham and the Netflix documentary, “The Innocent Man.”

In October 2019, a district judge found the state withheld “solid proof of Mr. Fontenot’s probable innocence.”

The ruling also said there was no evidence to back up clacks of Fontenot’s “Coerced Confession” and no physical evidence linking Fontenot to the crime.

Read Related: Attorneys For 'The Innocent Man' Claim New Evidence Proves He Didn't Commit Murder

The judge in the case ordered Fontenot to be released, or retried for the murder.

“If you hold someone long enough, with breaks and no sleep, most people are going to say whatever to get out of the situation,” said Andrea Digilo Miller of the Innocence Project.

This hearing will be held over zoom and will be live streamed on YouTube.