Tyrone Noling, a 54-year-old Ohio death row inmate, was given a rare opportunity to argue for a full pardon before the Ohio Parole Board on Tuesday. Noling has spent three decades on death row for the double murder of an elderly Ohio couple, crimes he maintains he did not commit.
Noling presented a growing body of evidence, backed by the Ohio Innocence Project, which includes recanted witness testimony, a sheriff and a former juror who have changed their positions on the case, and evidence suggesting that another man who has since been executed may have been the perpetrator. The case has garnered significant attention, including documentaries and true-crime podcasts, and has attracted support from celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and actors Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Noling was convicted in the April 5, 1990, killings of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, at their Portage County home. The couple’s bodies were discovered on the kitchen floor of their Atwater Township home by a neighbor who noticed their lawn mower had been in front of their home for several days. Authorities said Noling, who had just turned 18 at the time, was part of a group involved in home robberies of elderly couples.
However, three others in the group implicated Noling in the slayings of the Hartigs during a burglary but later retracted their statements, saying that police pressured them to name Noling as the shooter. No physical evidence tied him to the crime, and no murder weapon was ever found. Noling’s advocates say evidence points to two other potential suspects, including Dan Wilson, who was executed by lethal injection in Ohio in 2009 for a different crime.
Former Portage County Sheriff Ken Howe, now 83, testified on Noling’s behalf, stating that there were red flags at the time, and evidence that’s piled up since then has persuaded him to take Noling’s side. Following the hearing, the parole board will issue its recommendation to Gov. Mike DeWine, who has the final say. DeWine has called for the abolishment of the death penalty, saying his stance has changed because he no longer views capital punishment as a deterrent to violent crime.
The parole board will deliberate in executive session and send a recommendation to the governor within six business days. Noling seeks release from prison and has said he would not accept a commutation to life without parole for a crime he didn’t commit.
