

Jones, his attorneys and advocates say he is innocent. Jones has been on death row for nearly 20 years after he was sentenced for the 1999 murder of Paul Howell, who was shot in a carjacking as he pulled into his parents’ driveway with his adult sister and two daughters. Wednesday’s news conference follows years of protest against Jones’ death sentence. Stitt to get this right.”ĬNN has reached out to Gov. “Governor, you still have a chance, you still have time. In Oklahoma, only the governor can approve the commutation of a sentence.“This governor has nothing to pray about, he has a decision to make,” Jones-Davis said. The clemency petition is under review by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which will now determine whether his application can advance. I urge the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board to consider commuting the death sentence for Julius Jones,” reads a statement from Most Rev. Mercy perfects justice and brings healing. Justice is necessary, but it is not enough. Taking another life does not ultimately bring closure and peace to those who have lost a loved one. The use of the death penalty only contributes to the continued coarsening of society and to the spiral of violence. We should stand for justice, but we can do that and protect society without resorting to the death penalty. “We must acknowledge the harm done to the victims of this crime and to society at large. The evidence used to convict Julius was inconsistent and several eye-witnesses provided an alibi for Julius,” Oklahoma County One Commissioner Carrie Blumbert wrote. Christopher Jordan was later overheard bragging that he set-up Julius and was incentivized to testify for a shorter prison time. Julius’ attorney was an overworked public defender who failed to cross-examine Christopher Jordan, (Julius’ co-defendant,) on the six inconsistent statements he gave to police upon arrest.
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Instead, it described his co-defendant who served 15 years and is now a free man. “At the time of Julius’ trial, the eyewitness description of the shooter did not fit Julius. To support the petition, several members of the community have issued statements to address concerns with the case. Now, his attorney has filed a clemency petition for Jones’ case. However, the Supreme Court still denied Jones’ petition for a judicial review.

That juror is accused of using a racial slur when referring to Jones during the trial, and reportedly told another member of the jury that someone should shoot Jones ‘behind the jail.’ĭefense attorneys say the judge in the case knew about the conversation, but didn’t remove the juror from the trial. Weeks later, his attorneys filed a new appeal asking the court to consider evidence against a specific juror. Supreme Court announced that it would not get involved in the case when Jones’ attorney argued that people of color in Oklahoma are more likely to be sentenced to death when the victim in the case is white. The Jones family has always maintained Julius’ innocence.
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However, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said those defending Jones have “disseminated misinformation and lies regarding the trial and evidence” in the case. His supporters said his original defense team failed him, never even bringing up his alibi for the night of the murder. Jones never took the stand, and he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death.

Jones was arrested and was put on trial for the murder. Scene from the murder of Paul HowellĪt the time of the crime, Julius Jones was a 19-year-old honor student on a scholarship at the University of Oklahoma. Investigators say the alleged suspect took off in Howell’s Suburban after killing the businessman. In July of 1999, Edmond businessman Paul Howell was shot and killed in the driveway of his parents’ Edmond home. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – After an Oklahoma death row inmate’s appeal for a judicial review was denied earlier this year, his attorneys have now filed a petition for clemency. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.
