![]() ![]() 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. In a previous statement to CNN, daughter Rachel Howell called the narrative about Jones’ case “completely false” and evidence shows he is guilty.ĬNN has reached out to Howell for reaction to the board’s recommendation. We hope that Governor Stitt will exercise his authority to accept the Board’s recommendation and ensure that Oklahoma does not execute an innocent man,” said Amanda Bass, lead counsel for Jones.īut Howell’s family and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office have rejected Jones’ innocence claims and believe he’s guilty. “The Pardon and Parole Board has now twice voted in favor of commuting Julius Jones’s death sentence, acknowledging the grievous errors that led to his conviction and death sentence. ![]() The same parole board recommended commuting Jones’ sentence in September. But Jones, his attorneys and advocates – among them high-profile celebrities like Kim Kardashian West – insist he is innocent.įor nearly two decades, Jones has been on death row for a crime he did not commit, his clemency petition says, 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, who is Black, is scheduled to be executed November 18 for the 1999 murder of Paul Howell, whose sister and two young daughters were present when he was shot in the driveway of his parents’ home. His office said he is aware of the board’s action and there will be no further comment until his decision. Kevin Stitt gets the final say on Jones’ fate. Stitt to do the same by accepting their recommendation.” “I am grateful to the Pardon and Parole Board for again showing they are willing to listen to facts and reason, show compassion, and do what is in their power to right this terrible wrong. “My son Julius has been on death row for over twenty years for a murder he did not commit, and every day of that has been a waking nightmare for my family,” said Madeline Davis-Jones, in a statement through their attorney. The board voted 3-1 on Monday to recommend commuting Jones’ sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole, according to the release from the inmate’s attorneys. Jones pleaded his case to the board less than three weeks before he’s set to be executed. Stavros Lambrinidis.The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended granting clemency to Julius Jones, a man sentenced to death for a murder he says he did not commit. Jones' sentence," said Ambassador to the U.S. Christopher Jordan, underscore the importance of commuting Mr. Jones' lack of understanding of the consequences of his actions at age nineteen, fundamental questions about the evidence, and the disparity between his sentences and those of Mr. "The concerns expressed by Board members, including Mr. The Howell family contends that the evidence is overwhelming and that Jones' execution should go forward. Tenth Circuit Court of Criminal Appeals denied an execution stay request from Jones and three other death row prisoners on Friday, leaving the decision in Stitt's hands. His life hangs in the balance as he awaits the governor's decision on whether to accept the state Board of Pardons and Paroles' recommendation to commute his sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Jones, 41, was sentenced to lethal injection Thursday for the 1999 murder of businessman Paul Howell during a carjacking. The European Union (EU) urged Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to grant leniency to Julius Jones. ![]()
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