Tyrone Noling Seeks Pardon After 30 Years on Death Row

In Columbus, Ohio, Tyrone Noling has spent three decades on death row for a crime he claims he didn’t commit. On Tuesday, he presented his case for a full pardon to the Ohio Parole Board.

At 54, Noling from Alliance brought forward a significant amount of evidence with support from the Ohio Innocence Project. During the clemency hearing, his defense included recanted witness testimonies, a change in the position of the sheriff and a juror from his original trial, and evidence suggesting a different killer may have been involved—a killer who was already executed.

Noling’s case has caught the attention of various documentaries and true-crime podcasts. Public figures like Kim Kardashian and actors Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan have also voiced support for his release.

“He seeks release from prison without the option of a commutation to life imprisonment because he maintains his innocence,” said a spokesperson.

The parole board will provide its recommendation to Governor Mike DeWine, who holds the final decision. DeWine, a Republican, has advocated for the abolishment of the death penalty, expressing doubts about its effectiveness as a crime deterrent.

Noling was convicted for the 1990 murders of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, at their home in Portage County. Their bodies were found by a neighbor after noticing an unattended lawn mower. Both had been shot with a .25-caliber automatic handgun, and the home was ransacked.

Authorities accused Noling, 18 at the time, of being part of a group targeting elderly homes for robberies. Initially, three other teenagers implicated Noling before retracting their statements, citing police pressure.

Though initial burglary charges against Noling were dropped in 1992, he was indicted again in 1995 for the murders, resulting in a death sentence in 1996. His conviction lacks physical evidence, and the murder weapon remains undiscovered. Noling’s advocates point to law enforcement notes and other evidence, including a cigarette butt, that suggest other suspects, particularly Dan Wilson, executed in 2009 for another crime, might be involved.

Former Portage County Sheriff Ken Howe, aged 83, plans to testify for Noling. He remarked in an interview that accumulated evidence sways him to believe the involved, including Noling, are innocent.

The board will deliberate in a private session before recommending action to the governor, with a decision expected by August 25.