![]() ![]() Support for Jones has also gone international, with a representative from the European Union weighing in via a letter to Stitt. “Hopefully, God can intervene and handle it correctly and do the things He needs to do.” Mayfield played football at the University of Oklahoma. “It’s a shame it’s gotten this far,” Mayfield told reporters Wednesday as he teared up. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian - who has long advocated against Jones’ death sentence - actors Kerry Washington and Mandy Patinkin, and even professional athletes like Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield have been using their voices in calling for the governor to spare Jones. “If my child is executed tomorrow or any day, it should be without a doubt. Do it over again, do it right!” Davis-Jones said as the crowd erupted in applause. “If you think Julius is guilty, give him a fair trial. Supporters have gathered near the governor’s mansion in Oklahoma City over the past few nights, and some even set up tents overnight, CNN affiliate KOCO reported.Īt a news conference Wednesday evening, Jones’ mother described her son’s scheduled execution as a lynching. That support has only ramped up with the impending execution date. And more than 6 million people have signed an online Justice for Julius petition asking Stitt to intervene and prevent his execution. Jones’ case has attracted widespread attention in recent years, in part due to the ABC documentary series “ The Last Defense,” which spotlighted his case in 2018. Supporters protested at governor’s mansion “Julius Jones forever changed our lives and the lives of (Paul Howell’s) family and friends,” the statement said. “We take comfort that his decision affirmed the guilt of Julius Jones and that he shall not be eligible to apply for, or be considered for, a commutation, pardon or parole for the remainder of his life.” “We know Governor Stitt had a difficult decision to make,” the family said. Howell’s family remains convinced of his guilt, reiterating that belief in a statement. Jones’ clemency petition says he’s been on death row because of “fundamental breakdowns in the system tasked with deciding” his guilt, including ineffective and inexperienced defense attorneys, racial bias among his jury and alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Jones has been on death row for nearly 20 years, but he, his family, attorneys and supporters say he is innocent. He had been convicted of the 1999 murder of Paul Howell during a carjacking. ![]() The 11th-hour decision comes after years of protest over Jones’ death sentence. ![]() Stay with us.“While we had hoped the Governor would adopt the Board’s recommendation in full by commuting Julius’s sentence to life with the possibility of parole in light of the overwhelming evidence of Julius’s innocence,” Bass said, “we are grateful that the Governor has prevented an irreparable mistake.” Today, efforts continue in a new fight to #freejuliusjones. ![]() Supreme Court has made unequivocally clear that our criminal justice system cannot tolerate such blatant examples of racial prejudice on the part of even a single juror.Īfter an international movement to fight for #justiceforjulius and TWO favorable votes by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, Governor Kevin Stitt commuted Julius’ sentence to life WITHOUT the possibility of parole 4 hours shy of the scheduled execution on November 18, 2021. Jones’ arrest and the State’s removal of all prospective black jurors except one -evidence shows that a juror used the n-word before jury deliberations at the sentencing phase. In a case riddled with odious racial discrimination - including a police officer’s use of a racial slur during Mr. Jones’ co-defendant was released after only 15 years and is now a free man. However, after pleading guilty to the crime, Mr. Jones’ trial that his co-defendant would serve a 30-year sentence in exchange for his testimony. His co-defendant was the state’s key witness against him, and the prosecution repeatedly told jurors at Mr. Jones’ co-defendant fit an eyewitness’s description of the shooter, while Mr. Julius jones sat on oklahoma’s death row for approximately 23 yearsĭespite maintaining his innocence and compelling evidence that he was wrongfully convicted. ![]()
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