Tommy Ward makes a horrifying testament to his innocence after decades in jail (Picture: Netflix)

This is a warning to you now: The Innocent Man’s first episode is not for the faint-hearted.

Speaking in graphic detail, with actual crime scene photos, viewers are subjected to the harrowing 1982 assault and murder of Debbie Carter, a 21-year-old barmaid who was killed in her Oklahoma home, seemingly for no reason.

We’re introduced to her inconsolable mother, Peppy, who’s turned to drink to cope with her daughter’s death.

You then hear about an even more brutal death of Denise Haraway, who was killed two years later after going missing from a convenience store she worked in with little to no explanation.


Could one miscarriage of justice be the key to another? (Picture: Netflix)

To top it all off, you have two men confessing on camera to the murder of Denise – explaining how they did it, in gruesome detail, to a team of police officers.



But at the end of the episode, one of these men, Tommy Ward, proclaims he’s innocent – and that his confession was the retelling of a dream he had. Therein lies the fascination. Is he telling the truth, which sounds almost impossible?

His so-called partner-in-crime, Karl Fontenot, also asserts he did not do the things he was accused of. So why did they confess?

Two men were seen confessing to the murders (Picture: Netflix)

The nine episodes that follow is a fascinating insight into coercion, mental health, and corruption within the US justice system. These kinds of things aren’t new, but when you suddenly have John Grisham, a popular fiction author, suddenly fascinated with the case, things take a turn.

It’s hard to imagine someone who has such a depiction of what they did to a woman actually be false, but over the course of the series, we discover that sometimes, things just aren’t always as open and shut as people would like them to be.

Following the success of Making a Murderer, it’s very easy to draw comparisons between the two. The difference, we feel, lies with their leading man. Tommy Ward consistently comes across as an open, warm and loving man. Since being in prison, he’s found God, and by all accounts is an upstanding gentleman.

He also refuses to confess again to the murders, even if doing so would allow his freedom.

There are four men in total who are affected by the two murders, and each one handles their sentencing differently.

Ron Williamson, convicted of killing Debbie, is irate almost constantly, but this comes from years of mental health issues made worse by being institutionalised for a crime he hasn’t committed. Add to that he’s on death row, and at one point, comes within five DAYS of death.

Dennis Fritz is his alleged accomplice, and is also in jail after being found guilty for the crime too.

However, the two murders become interlinked thanks to the arrival of DNA evidence – with one case possibly holding the key to another.

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I would highly recommend you avoid the internet looking for spoilers and watch from the get go with fresh eyes. The story is fascinating, heartbreaking, and infuriating in equal measure.

This is the perfect new true crime obsession for people to get their teeth into, and could possibly lead to the freedom of men incarcerated.

The Innocent Man is available on Netflix now.

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