CNN: Oklahoma governor grants clemency to Julius Jones, halting his execution
Oklahoma Gov. 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.
Jones’ sentence will be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the governor said in an executive order issued Thursday.
Julius Jones was convicted in the 1999 murder of Paul Howell, a business man who was shot to death during an attempted carjacking in an affluent Oklahoma suburb.
Jones has long maintained his innocence and believes shoddy defense attorneys, prosecutorial misconduct, and racial bias contributed to his conviction.
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