Tyrone Noling has spent three decades on death row, maintaining his innocence in the double murder case of an elderly Ohio couple. At 54, Noling brought his plea for a full pardon to the Ohio Parole Board. Supported by the Ohio Innocence Project, he aims to present new evidence at his clemency hearing.
The evidence includes recanted witness testimonies and changes in the positions of key figures like the sheriff and a trial juror. There is also a theory implicating a different individual, already executed, as the actual perpetrator. Noling’s case has gained attention through documentaries and support from celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Hilarie Burton, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Noling’s hearing marks the first for an Ohio death row inmate since 2020. After the hearing, the Ohio Parole Board will recommend a course of action to Governor Mike DeWine, who holds the final decision. Governor DeWine, a Republican, previously expressed his changing views on the death penalty, believing it no longer serves as a deterrent to violent crime.
Typically, death row inmates receive clemency hearings only when an execution date is imminent. Although Noling does not have an execution date, he won Tuesday’s hearing as a result. He seeks freedom and refuses life imprisonment without parole for a crime he insists he did not commit.
Noling was convicted for the April 5, 1990 killings of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, aged 81, at their home in Portage County. Their bodies were found on the kitchen floor by a neighbor, alerted by an unmoved lawn mower in front of their home. Bearnhardt was shot three times and Cora five, with a .25-caliber automatic handgun. The house was also ransacked.
Authorities claim Noling, just 18 at the time, was part of a group committing home robberies targeting elderly couples. Three teenagers in the group initially implicated Noling in the Hartigs’ murder but later withdrew their statements, alleging police pressure. Initial charges against Noling for aggravated burglary were dropped in 1992; however, a 1995 grand jury reindictment led to his death sentence in 1996.
No physical evidence or murder weapon linked Noling to the crime. Advocates argue other evidence points to different suspects, particularly Dan Wilson, executed in 2009 for another crime. A man reported to authorities his foster brother, Wilson, bragged about the crime.
Former Portage County Sheriff Ken Howe, aged 83, is one of several witnesses supporting Noling’s innocence. Howe stated in an interview that new evidence and existing red flags have convinced him of Noling’s innocence.
Contacted for comments, Portage County Prosecutor Connie Lewandowski and Caitlin Flanagan, an attorney for Noling’s team, have not responded. The parole board’s recommendation to the governor is anticipated by August 25.