Ohio death row inmate, backed by ex-sheriff, asks for full pardon

Tyrone Noling, who has spent 30 years on Ohio's death row for a double murder he insists he did not commit, has made a rare plea for a full pardon. Noling, 54, presented his case to the Ohio Parole Board this week, backed by the Ohio Innocence Project. He highlighted a growing body of evidence suggesting his innocence, including witness testimony that has since been recanted and statements from the sheriff and a juror at his trial that have changed.

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An inmate sentenced to death in Ohio had a rare opportunity this week to ask for a full pardon before the state's parole board, after spending three decades on death row for a double murder that he insists he did not commit.

Further evidence points to an already executed killer as the potential perpetrator. Noling's case has attracted attention from documentaries, true-crime podcasts, and celebrities like Kim Kardashian. It also raises questions about convictions based on crimes with no physical evidence linking the accused.

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That includes recanted witness testimony, changed stances by the sheriff and one of the jurors at his trial, and clues pointing to an already executed killer as the possible perpetrator.

Noling was convicted in 1996 for the 1990 murders of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, an elderly couple found dead in their ransacked home. His defense argues that witnesses were pressured by the prosecutor to testify against him. He seeks release and has stated he would not accept a commutation to life without parole, as he maintains his innocence.

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The case also called into question the practice of convicting and sentencing inmates to death for crimes to which no physical evidence had linked them, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The parole board's recommendation will go to Gov. Mike DeWine, who recently expressed a shift in his views, calling for the abolition of the death penalty. Noling's hearing marks the first for an Ohio death row inmate since 2020, and securing this clemency hearing, even without an execution date, is seen as a significant step.

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In lieu of physical evidence, some witnesses gave statements against Noling during his trial, but later recanted their statements and said they were initially pressured by the prosecutor to give them, the Death Penalty Information Center says.