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

A federal court will hear the appeal for an Oklahoman man featured in the Netflix documentary "The Innocent Man" on Tuesday.

Karl Fontenot was released from prison in 2019 after 35 years behind bars for the 1984 murder of Denice Harraway in Ada.

Fontenot's case got national attention thanks to author John Grisham and the Netflix documentary "The Innocent Man." In October of 2019 a district judge found the state withheld "solid proof of Mister Fontenot's probable innocence." The ruling also said there was no evidence to back up claims of Fontenot's "coerced confession" and that no physical evidence linked Fontenot to the crime. The judge in the case ordered Fontenot to be released or re-tried 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.

Oklahoma's Attorney General will appeal the judge's ruling. Monday's hearing will be held over Zoom and will be live streamed on YouTube.