Ohio Death Row Inmate Tyrone Noling Makes Rare Plea for Pardon

Tyrone Noling, a 54-year-old inmate on Ohio's death row, was granted a rare opportunity on Tuesday to argue for a full pardon before the state's parole board. Noling has consistently maintained his innocence in the 1990 murders of an elderly couple, a crime for which he was sentenced to death in 1996.

His clemency hearing, the first for an Ohio death row inmate since 2020, was a significant procedural victory. Typically, such hearings are only held once an execution date is set, which Noling does not have. He has stated he would reject a commutation to life without parole, insisting on a full pardon for a crime he says he did not commit.

Represented with support from the Ohio Innocence Project, Noling's legal team presented a body of evidence that has grown over the decades. This includes witness testimony that has been recanted, a change of heart from the sheriff who originally investigated the case, and one of the trial jurors. The evidence also points to another man, Dan Wilson, who was executed in 2009 for a different crime, as a possible perpetrator.

The case has drawn public attention through documentaries and podcasts, as well as support from celebrities like Kim Kardashian and actors Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Noling was convicted for the April 5, 1990, shooting deaths of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, at their home in Portage County. The couple was found dead in their kitchen, and their home had been ransacked. No physical evidence tied Noling to the crime, and the murder weapon was never recovered.

At the time, Noling was 18 and part of a group involved in robberies of elderly couples. Three younger accomplices implicated him but later retracted their statements, claiming police pressured them. Former Portage County Sheriff Ken Howe, now 83, testified on Noling's behalf, saying he believes the men are innocent.

The parole board will now deliberate and send its recommendation to Governor Mike DeWine, who has the final decision. DeWine, a Republican, has recently called for the abolition of the death penalty, stating he no longer believes it serves as a deterrent.