Jones, 41, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die for the 1999 shooting death of Edmond, Oklahoma, businessman Paul Howell during a carjacking.
He said he wanted to have the chance to "help somebody else save their life." Prescott said he learned about the case shortly after the death of his brother by suicide in April 2020. "For me, it's about continuing to do whatever I can to help." "I know there's a lot of people that are supporting Julius and supporting the governor's decision in which he made, and we're all very, very thankful for not taking an innocent man's life," Prescott said.
Mayfield reacted to the news of Jones' commutation in a tweet Thursday.ĭallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who wrote letters to Stitt and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board in the summer of 2020, said he was "thankful" for Thursday's ruling. Hopefully God can intervene and handle it correctly and do the things he needs to do." It is a shame that it has gotten this far. Since then, a number of sports figures with Oklahoma ties, including Westbrook, Griffin and Young, have urged Stitt to commute Jones' death sentence and spare his life.įormer Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield spoke out in support of Jones on Wednesday, saying: "I have been trying to get the facts stated and the truth to be told for a while, but it is tough to think about. Jones' case drew widespread attention after it was profiled in "The Last Defense," a three-episode documentary produced by actress Viola Davis that aired on ABC in 2018. Stitt commuted Jones' sentence on Thursday - the date of his scheduled execution - to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Kevin Stitt has commuted the death sentence of condemned inmate Julius Jones, whose case drew the attention of numerous sports figures, such as NBA stars Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin and Trae Young.
#JULIUS JONES OKLAHOMA BASKETBALL UPGRADE#
Prosecutors say those individuals, all of whom have lengthy criminal records, were not credible, knew no details of the murder and that their testimonies were not corroborated.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĭeath sentence for Julius Jones reduced to life in prison by Oklahoma governor Jones’ attorneys say the jury also never heard from several individuals who have testified that Jordan admitted killing Howell and framing Jones.
#JULIUS JONES OKLAHOMA BASKETBALL TRIAL#
Even Jones’ trial attorney, David McKenzie, wrote in an affidavit that he “personally concluded that the alibi defense was untrue.” JAILHOUSE TESTIMONY They also note that three people saw Jones with Howell’s stolen Suburban shortly after the killing. Prosecutors say this is a “blatant falsehood,” and that Jones’ trial attorney never called the family to the witness stand because Jones repeatedly told his attorneys that he was not at home on the night of the murder. Jones and his family have maintained that he was at home with them on the night of Howell’s murder, eating dinner and playing games with his siblings, and that the jury was never presented this information at trial. Jordan’s is not a persuasive showing of actual innocence.” Prosecutors also note that a federal district court addressed this issue, noting “the length of (Jones’) hair compared to Mr. Jones has long said he was framed by Jordan, and that Jordan is the actual killer.īut prosecutors say Tobey testified she never saw braids and that her testimony was referring to how much hair was visible between the top of the ear and the stocking cap, not the hair length. Jones’ attorneys suggest this was a better description of Jones’ co-defendant who testified against him, Christopher Jordan, who had corn-row braids at the time, and that the jury was never shown a photo of Jones taken a week before the murder that showed him with short, close-cropped hair. Paul Howell’s sister, Megan Tobey, who was an eyewitness to her brother’s killing, testified in court that the gunman was wearing a stocking cap that came down “about a half an inch to an inch” above his ears, and that hair was sticking out from both sides.
0 kommentar(er)
