![]() In the days before murdering Howell, Jones committed an armed robbery at the Royal Jewelers jewelry store inside Quail Springs Mall by placing a gun to the store owner’s head according to prosecutors.Ī couple weeks later, Jones committed back-to-back carjackings at Hideaway Pizza in Oklahoma City. Prosecutors have countered that the new witnesses are not believable. "There are multiple men who did time with Christopher Jordan who reveal that Jordan regularly and casually confessed to killing Paul Howell," Jones wrote. Jones claims Jordan is the actual killer and framed him to get a deal. Under a plea agreement, Jordan pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a robbery for his role and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Jones was directly implicated at trial in the fatal shooting by his friend, Christopher Jordan. Prosecutors pointed out to the parole board that his own trial attorneys testified Jones said he wasn't home. "How can I have love and compassion for Julius Jones?" "Why does my trauma have to be entertainment for people?" Rachel Howell told the board. “We should not allow the state to kill anybody without shining a spotlight on it,” said Abraham Bonowitz, executive director of Death Penalty Action, an organization calling for the abolition of capital punishment. Jones’ case also saw increased urgency recently after Oklahoma’s attorney general requested to schedule execution dates for seven death row prisoners, including Jones. His supporters include celebrity Kim Kardashian, who visited him last year at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Millions signed a petition in Jones' support after ABC in 2018 aired the documentary series, "The Last Defense," about his innocence claim. Jones’ innocence claim has attracted support from celebrities and well-known athletes. “At 74, I never thought I’d be scared to go out in public,” she told the board. Toby said she has experienced “a whole new level of fear,” since Jones wrote her a letter, apparently having found her address. “As I was rushing the girls to safety, Jones yelled ‘stop’” and shot again, Toby said. Megan Toby, Paul Howell’s sister, said she heard the shot when she was exiting the passenger side of the vehicle. “I waved at him, like any innocent child would,” she said. Rachel Howell, one of Paul Howell's daughters, told the board she was in the backseat of the family vehicle when she saw Jones walk by. Jurors chose the death penalty as punishment at a 2002 trial.Īfter listening Monday to emotional appeals from Howell’s family, and legal points from a prosecutor and a defense attorney, Luck said the board is not a court or jury, but “quite simply, I have doubts about this case.” Jones, 41, is facing execution for the fatal shooting of Edmond insurance executive Paul Howell during a carjacking. “I just don’t have the words to say,” Madeline Davis-Jones, mother of Julius Jones, said after the board voted. ![]() Parole board members Adam Luck, Larry Morris and Kelly Doyle voted in favor of recommending commutation, while Richard Smothermon voted against.īoard member Scott Williams recused himself because of a professional relationship he had with one of the attorneys who spoke on Jones’ behalf The board, on a vote of 3-1, recommended Jones' death sentence be reduced and changed to life with the possibility of parole. Kevin Stitt commute the death sentence of Julius Jones for a 1999 killing that has garnered national attention. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole board voted Monday to recommend Gov. The governor's office did not respond to requests for comment.Watch Video: Families react to commutation recommendation for Julius Jones Witnesses said John Marion Grant, 60, vomited and repeatedly convulsed on October 28 after the sedative midazolam was administered during a lethal injection that experts described as "botched," but the Department of Corrections said was carried out "without complication." If Jones' execution goes ahead, he will be the second Black man put to death since Oklahoma ended a six-year moratorium on executions that was prompted by a series of flawed lethal injections. I feel invisible.' This life owes Black women more than this." Today, her eyes are closed in the back seat. Since then, a petition calling for Jones' life to be spared has amassed more than 6.5 million signatures.Ĭece Jones-Davis, who directs the Justice for Julius Jones campaign, wrote in a Wednesday update on the petition: "Julius' mother is the strongest woman in the world. Jones' case received renewed attention after was profiled in The Last Defense, a documentary series produced by Viola Davis that aired on ABC in 2018. "If my child is executed tomorrow or any day, it should be without a doubt," she said. Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP Julius Jones is scheduled to be executed by the state of Oklahoma on November 18.
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