Free!
Free!

Tim Howard

After 20 years, Tim is free!

After spending almost 20 years behind bars, nearly 15 of which were on death row, Tim was released on December 14, 2017. He was sentenced to death after being wrongly convicted of capital murder in Ashdown, Ark.

 

Incarcerated For:
19 Years
11 Months
27 Days
Conviction: Capital Murder
Sentence: Death
Conviction Date: December 17, 1997
Exoneration Date: December 14, 2017
State: Arkansas
Race of Defendant: African American
Race of Victims: Caucasion
Status: Free!
Contributing Causes of Conviction: Racial bias, prosecutorial misconduct
Type of Crime: Capital Murder
01
Tim's Background

Tim grew up in Ogden, Ark., just outside Texarkana, where his mother and sisters currently reside. He was a diesel mechanic by trade before he was wrongly convicted.

02
The Crime

On December 13, 1997, Tim’s best friends Brian and Shanon Day were murdered and the assailant attempted to murder their infant son as well. The state presented the theory that Tim murdered them after impregnating Shanon Day, despite clear medical evidence she was not pregnant at the time of her death.

03
The Trial(s)

Tim’s team discovered that DNA testing done in the case and used to help convict him was contaminated — a fact known to the prosecutors but illegally withheld from the defense team. On October 29, 2013, Judge Charles Yeargan granted Tim a new trial based largely on this withheld evidence.

In 2015, Tim’s second trial took place in Ashdown, Ark. He was charged with three capital counts, three first-degree counts, and three second-degree counts. During the trial, the prosecutor, Brian Chesshir, injected racial undertones, all but stating ‘this black man wears our clothes and dates our women’ to the jury. The trial lasted more than two weeks and went to the jury on the Friday afternoon before Mother’s Day. After several hours of deliberation late into the night, the jury reached a compromise verdict: acquittal of all capital and first-degree charges, conviction on the second-degree charges. It was later confirmed by multiple jurors they expected Tim to be released with time served. Unfortunately, Tim went back to prison until his parole in 2017.

04
Current Status

Tim Howard walked out of prison December 14, 2017 and is now able to enjoy the rest of his life. He is thriving in Arkansas. He’s been able to see parts of the country he never had. He has close friends and family who love him. He’s worked hard at a steady job since his release and has a budding landscape business on the side.

November 22, 2017 Tim Howard is One Step Closer to Freedom!

By: John Hardin

We just got the best Thanksgiving news! I  got a call this morning from Tim, letting me know that late yesterday the…

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November 16, 2015 Injustice in Arkansas

By: John Hardin

Today the Arkansas Board of Pardons and Parole denied parole for Tim Howard. Needless to say, we are heartbroken. Tim is…

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May 15, 2015 Tim Howard Should Soon be Free!

(Photo: Brian Chilson, Arkansas Times)

By: John Hardin

After spending almost 15 years on death row in Arkansas and another 2 years in…

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March 8, 2014 Visiting Tim in Ashdown

By: John Hardin

I had a great visit with Tim on Thursday night. His move to county jail has been a challenging transition after having…

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