Tyrone Noling has spent three decades on Ohio’s death row, maintaining his innocence in the murders of an elderly couple. On Tuesday, Noling, supported by the Ohio Innocence Project, appealed to the Ohio Parole Board for a full pardon.
Noling, 54, presented new evidence at his clemency hearing. This included witness recantations, changes in stance by key figures in his case, and indications that another executed criminal might be responsible. His case gained attention through documentaries, podcasts, and support from celebrities like Kim Kardashian and actors Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The Ohio Parole Board will recommend action to Governor Mike DeWine, who recently suggested abolishing the death penalty after questioning its effectiveness as a deterrent to crime. This hearing marked the first of its kind in Ohio since 2020.
Noling was convicted for the April 1990 murders of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig. The couple was found dead in their Portage County home by a neighbor. Both were shot with a .25-caliber handgun, and their home was ransacked. Though initially linked to a group targeting elderly victims, Noling’s co-defendants later retracted statements implicating him, citing police coercion.
Despite the lack of physical evidence tying Noling to the crime, he was sentenced to death in 1996. Advocates argue other evidence, such as law enforcement notes and a cigarette butt, suggests different suspects, including Dan Wilson, executed in 2009 for another crime.
Key figures like former Portage County Sheriff Ken Howe now support Noling’s innocence claims. Howe, among others, testified at the clemency hearing, voicing doubts about the original investigation.
The board is expected to deliberate and provide a recommendation to the governor by August 25. Noling, without an execution date, considers the hearing a significant win in his quest for exoneration and freedom from a wrongful conviction.