Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued a last-minute executive order to grant clemency to death row inmate Julius Jones on Thursday, hours before he was slated to be executed.
Jones was scheduled to be executed at 4 p.m. local time at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. However, Stitt has now commuted Jones’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“Julius Darius Jones shall not be eligible to apply for or be considered for a commutation, pardon, or parole for the remainder of his life,” Stitt wrote in the executive order obtained by the Washington Examiner.
The 41-year-old inmate, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002, has been on death row for more than 20 years for the murder of Paul Howell despite maintaining his innocence and claiming he was not responsible for the fatal 1999 shooting.
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 on Nov. 1 to recommend Stitt to grant clemency to Jones and reduce his sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The governor appointed two of the three members who voted to recommend clemency, including Adam Luck and Kelly Doyle. The Court of Criminal Appeals appointed the third member, Larry Morris.
SUPREME COURT HEARS CASE CHALLENGING TEXAS LAW PROHIBITING PRAYER AND TOUCH DURING EXECUTIONS
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.https://t.co/fLsnYnxInw
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) November 18, 2021
Jones’s family insists he was home at the time of Howell’s killing despite prosecutors saying it was a “blatant falsehood” and that his trial attorney never called the family to the witness stand. The prosecutors said this was because Jones told his attorneys he was not home the night Howell was murdered.
Activists called on the governor for months to hear the pleas from Jones’s family and testimony from witnesses who claimed Jones’s friend, Christopher Jordan, was behind the actual shooting of Howell. Jones’s attorneys argued the jury never heard from several individuals who testified that Jordan admitted to the killing. Prosecutors said those who made such claims have lengthy criminal records, knew no details of the murder, and that their testimonies weren’t corroborated.
Howell’s family released a statement on Thursday acknowledging that the governor had a “difficult decision to make” and saying they “took comfort” in his choice to bar Jones from any future commutation, pardon, or parole.
“Julius Jones forever changed our lives and the lives of his family and friends,” the victim’s family wrote, according to a letter obtained by a local ABC affiliate.
Prior to Stitt’s decision on Thursday, tension mounted across Oklahoma City as protesters gathered in the Oklahoma State Capitol and outside the governor’s mansion demanding “Justice for Julius” and for the governor to honor the Pardon and Parole Board’s decision.
Julius Jones supporters on 23rd St., outside of Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s mansion, in an act of “civil disobedience.” They’re chanting “Free Julius Jones!” Police are asking them to clear the street. This as @GovStitt decides if he’ll grant Jones clemency from execution. pic.twitter.com/ELwJLLNmXz
— Kaitor Kay (@kaitorkay) November 18, 2021
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Jones’s death sentence was capitulated amid a large celebrity outcry for his clemency, as stars such as Kim Kardashian West and numerous big-name celebrities took to social media to demand justice for his case.
