In her own statement, Jones attorney Amanda Bass called the governor’s decision an “important step towards restoring public faith in the criminal justice system by ensuring that Oklahoma does not execute an innocent man.”īut she acknowledged Jones’ family and supporters had hoped he might get parole one day. Who is Julius Jones, scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma? 5, 2018, file photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections shows Julius Jones. As a result, the governor was commuting Jones’ sentence with the condition that he “shall not be eligible to apply for or be considered for a commutation, pardon, or parole for the remainder of his life,” the order says. However, in his executive order, Stitt said neither the state constitution nor state law give the board the authority to recommend that commutation, nor do they give the governor the authority to grant it. Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board had recommended Jones’ sentence be commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole in a 3-1 vote on November 1. The Republican governor came to the decision following “prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case,” he said in a statement on Twitter. They did not provide details on what was in the meal.Īn enormous sense of relief broke loose when the news arrived that Jones would not be executed, according to the attorneys. Jones had been in a holding cell outside the execution chamber for the past two weeks, the attorneys said, and he received his last meal Wednesday evening.
Jones and his attorneys found out about the clemency at 12:45 p.m. CT at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Jones was scheduled to be executed at 4 p.m. Jones’ sentence will be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to an executive order filed Thursday. Kevin Stitt has granted clemency to Julius Jones, commuting Jones’ death sentence just hours before he was scheduled to be executed for a 1999 murder he says he did not commit. The state insists the execution was carried out correctly.Oklahoma Gov. It resumed on 28 October to continued controversy when Oklahoma put to death John Marion Grant, who convulsed about two dozen times and vomited in what critics described as a “botched” execution.
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His death date had previously been scheduled before a series of botched executions in Oklahoma inspired a temporary moratorium on the practice in 2015. Jones’ case has galvanized a diverse group of supporters, from Kim Kardashian West to Republican lawmakers in Oklahoma. “He is innocent and please send him home in Jesus’ name. “Governor Stitt, please send my baby boy home,” she said.
Madeline Davis-Jones released a video Sunday on the Justice for Julius social media account begging for him to call off her son’s execution. “When asked if the Jones family plans to come back and request a meeting w/ the governor again, family friend Jimmy Lawson said “We’ll take this opportunity to reconvene with our team and then we’ll come up with our plan B,” Mr Fleming tweeted.Ī day earlier, Jones’ mother also pleaded for Governor Stitt to intervene. When the family asked whether that meant Gov Stitt denied meeting with them, the spokesman just shut the door, the tweets continued. Family Friend Jimmy Lawson told Mr Fleming, of KFOR, that they would wait “as long as it takes”.Īfter two and a half hours, however, a spokesman emerged only to tell them the governor would consider their letter but there was “a process” and there was not going to be a meeting, the KFOR reporter tweeted.
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