![]() Stitt took an important step today towards restoring public faith in the criminal justice system by ensuring that Oklahoma does not execute an innocent man. Stitt has ordered that Jones, 41, shall not be eligible to apply for or be considered for a commutation, pardon, or parole for the remainder of his life. In it, Stitt wrote neither he nor the pardon and parole board have authority under state law to commute a death sentence to life with the possibility of parole. The executive order granting clemency was filed with the Secretary of State's office at 11:47 a.m. "After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole," Stitt said in a statement. The governor's office has said Stitt was in prayer about the decision the past several days. He had met with the family of murder victim Paul Howell, prosecutors, defense attorneys and clergy in the days since, but not with Jones' family or supporters. Stitt's announcement Thursday was his first public statement on the board's Nov. The board made the same recommendation after Jones' commutation hearing in September - the first for a death row inmate in Oklahoma - but Stitt said at the time a clemency hearing was the appropriate venue for such a recommendation. 1, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended for a second time that Stitt commute Jones' death sentence to life with the possibility of parole. “And tomorrow, let’s get back to organizing until we fully abolish the death penalty.After Jones' clemency hearing on Nov. Our brother Julius is alive to live another day!!! Let us celebrate like crazy,” tweeted Christian author and anti-death penalty advocate Shane Claiborne. But today and tomorrow - Julius Jones is alive. We will work towards that with every fiber of our being. Joshua DuBois, a faith advisor during President Barack Obama’s first term, said in a tweet that Julius “deserves to be free. Many faith leaders welcomed the governor’s decision while critiquing its last-minute arrival and calling for further justice. ![]() ![]() In The Last Defense, a 2018 ABC documentary series, one juror in Jones’ case told producers she’d heard a fellow juror exhibit racial bias and use racist slurs in reference to Jones - behavior that she’d reported to the judge an appeals court rejected this claim. READ MORE: An Open Letter to the Governor of OklahomaĪdvocates also argued that Jones’ co-defendant, Christopher Jordan, a key witness in Jones’ conviction, has confessed to both the crime and framing Jones Jordan’s attorney denies this. In a video released last week by Justice for Julius - a nonprofit organization dedicated to Jones’ defense - one of the original defense attorneys assigned to Jones’ case admitted her team had not been prepared to adequately represent a client in a death penalty case and asked Stitt to grant clemency. “The only difference between Julius is you know his name.”Īdvocates had argued there was compelling evidence that Jones was wrongfully convicted, including discrepancies between Jones’ appearance and an eyewitness description of the shooter as well as an alibi jurors never heard due to Jones’ inexperienced legal counsel. Keith Jossell, Jones’ faith adviser, told reporter Sawyer Buccy, “Julius wants you to know there are thousands of people that are just like him, that are incarcerated in the justice system that have been falsely accused,” Jossell said. Jones’ attorney Amanda Bass responded to the governor’s decision in a statement: “While we had hoped that the Governor would adopt the Board’s recommendation in full by commuting Julius’ sentence to life with the possibility of parole in light of the overwhelming evidence of Julius’ sentence, we are grateful that the Governor has prevented an irreparable mistake.” Though the governor’s executive order bars Jones from applying for, being considered for, or receiving “any additional commutation, pardon, or parole,” anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean said in a tweet that “this does not preclude Julius from pursuing legal exoneration in state or federal courts.” “After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” said Stitt in a statement issued on Thursday around noon in Oklahoma. ![]()
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