RismadarVoice Reporters, August 19, 2026
Tyrone Noling, an Ohio death row inmate who has spent three decades maintaining that he was wrongly convicted of murdering an elderly couple, has been given a rare opportunity to seek a pardon from the state’s parole board.
Noling, 54, appeared before the Ohio Parole Board on Tuesday, where he presented evidence in support of his request for clemency.
His case has attracted growing attention over the years, including support from the Ohio Innocence Project and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
Noling’s legal team presented several pieces of evidence they say undermine his conviction, including witnesses who have withdrawn earlier statements implicating him, a former sheriff who now questions the conviction and a former juror who has changed his position.
His lawyers have also pointed to evidence suggesting that another man, Dan Wilson, could have been responsible for the killings. Wilson was executed in Ohio in 2009 for an unrelated crime.
Noling’s advocates say there is no physical evidence linking him to the murders and that the weapon used in the killings was never recovered.
Former Portage County Sheriff Ken Howe, who is expected to testify in support of Noling, said he had concerns about the original investigation and now believes Noling is innocent.
“I believe that these boys were, and are, innocent,” Howe said.
Noling was convicted of killing Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig, both 81, at their home in Atwater Township, Portage County, on April 5, 1990.
The couple were found dead inside their home after a neighbour became concerned that their lawn mower had remained outside for several days.
Bearnhardt Hartig had been shot three times, while his wife was shot five times with a .25-calibre handgun. Their home had also been ransacked.
Authorities alleged that Noling, who had recently turned 18, was part of a group involved in burglaries targeting elderly couples.
Three teenagers who were members of the group initially implicated Noling in the killings but later withdrew their statements, claiming police had pressured them to identify him as the shooter.
Noling’s initial aggravated burglary charges were dismissed in 1992. However, a grand jury later indicted him on the Hartig murder charges in 1995, and he was sentenced to death in 1996.
Death row prisoners in Ohio typically receive clemency hearings when an execution date has been scheduled. Noling does not currently have an execution date, making Tuesday’s hearing an unusual development.
If the parole board recommends clemency, the final decision will rest with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
The governor, a Republican, announced in June that he now supports abolishing the death penalty in Ohio, saying he no longer believes capital punishment serves as an effective deterrent to violent crime.
Noling is seeking a full pardon and release from prison. He has said he would not accept a sentence of life imprisonment without parole because he maintains that he did not commit the murders.
The parole board is expected to deliberate privately and submit its recommendation to DeWine by August 25.
