Julius Jones: US Governor Stops Execution at Last Minute Decision | Death Penalty News

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt suspended the execution of deceased prisoner Julius Jones a few hours earlier than scheduled, and changed his life sentence to life without parole.

Doubts about Jones ’guilt in the 1999 murder of a businessman in the Oklahoma City neighborhood and concerns about the deadly substance used in the Oklahoma executions called for a nationwide round of prisoner travel. the death penalty.

“After reviewing the materials submitted by all parties to this lawsuit, I have decided to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life in prison, ”Stitt said Thursday.

Oklahoma and U.S. lawmakers as well as civil rights activists have called for a halt to Jones ’execution. The State Board of Forgiveness and Condition Science voted 3-1 earlier this month to recommend that Stitt Jones’ sentence be commuted to life in prison.

Jones’ lawyer, Amanda Bass, endorsed Stitt’s decision on Thursday, saying it was “a step toward restoring faith in the public criminal justice system.”

“While we hoped the Governor would fully accept the Council’s recommendation, commuting Julius’ sentence to the possibility of life imprisonment in light of the absolute evidence of Julius ’innocence, we are grateful that the Governor avoided an irreparable mistake,” Bass said. in a statement.

Dozens of U.S. states have abolished the death penalty, but 27 states and the federal government still allow the death penalty for serious crimes.

Jones was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing businessman Paul Howell 22 years ago in a car theft. He says he is innocent and says he was framed for the actual killer who testified against him, but the prosecutor said the evidence against Jones is overwhelming.

National celebrities, including reality TV character Kim Kardashian West and NBA stars have expressed support for Jones.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the organization that deals with racial justice, wrote a letter to Stitt earlier this month raising questions about Jones ’conviction. The LDF stressed that the relatives of the prisoner had confirmed that he was at home at the time of the murder. Jones was also aroused by allegations that one of the convicted jurors referred to him with the word n-word.

“This hostile race of a standing jury has clearly denied Mr. Jones his constitutional right” to an impartial jury, [could] see it without racial diversity, which for so long has distorted our criminal justice system, ”the letter says, citing a precedent for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawyers for Oklahoma death penalty inmates have also argued that drugs used by the state in executions would be a cruel and unusual punishment, violating inmates ’constitutional rights.

In late October, John Grant, 60, he experienced convulsions and vomited when they were executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma. It belonged to the state first execution in six years.

Grant, Jones and three other inmates won an October 27 execution suspension in a federal appellate court, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision.

Journalists who witnessed Grant’s execution said in a press conference that he vomited and experienced full-body convulsions before he was killed a dozen times. The reaction began after the injection of midazolam, the first drug administered in a three-drug process.

The event renewed requests to stop executions in the state.

On Wednesday, dozens of high school students from Oklahoma City he marched to denounce Jones ’scheduled execution from classes, local media reported.

Howell’s family, Jones was convicted of the crime, said in a statement local media That he takes comfort in confirming the guilty verdict against Jones.

“We know that Governor Stitt made a difficult decision,” the statement said. “We note that his decision upheld Julius Jones’ guilt and that he will not be able to seek or grant commutation, pardon or parole for the rest of his life.”