Judge vacates sentence Dec 19, 2020 Tommy Ward Former Ada resident Thomas Jesse Ward, convicted of a murder he insists he did not commit, was ordered on Dec. 18 to be set free. Ward, now 60, was convicted in 1985, along with Karl Fontenot, now 56, in connection with the disappearance and murder of Donna Denice Haraway. Both were also later convicted in second trials. According to court records filed Dec. 18, a district judge wrote, "... this court finds that the factual contentions made by the petitioner, Thomas Jesse Ward, in his amended application for post-conviction relief are sufficient as a matter of law to establish a prima facie showing the petitioner is entitled to post-conviction relief. It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed that petitioner's amended application for post-conviction relief is granted. Pursuant to Title 22, O.S. 1085, this court hereby vacates and sets aside the judgements and sentences entered against Ward on July 10, 1989, dismisses the charges originally filed against him in Pontotoc County case number CRF-84-183 and re-tried in Pottawatomie County case number CRF-1988-208; and discharges Ward from the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections."