{"id":1028837,"date":"2021-11-18T18:59:23","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T23:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1028837"},"modified":"2021-11-18T18:59:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T23:59:27","slug":"oklahoma-governor-blocks-execution-for-inmate-convicted-of-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/oklahoma-governor-blocks-execution-for-inmate-convicted-of-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Governor Blocks Execution For Inmate Convicted Of Murder"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Foklahoma-governor-blocks-execution-for-inmate-convicted-of-murder%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1028837&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"p1\">On Thursday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) stopped the execution of an inmate convicted of murder, instead commuting his sentence to life in prison with no parole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Governor Stitt <a href=\"https:\/\/oklahoma.gov\/governor\/newsroom\/newsroom\/2021\/november\/governor-stitt-commutes-julius-jones--sentence-to-life-without-p.html\">released<\/a> a statement saying, \u201cAfter prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones\u2019 sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The announcement from the governor\u2019s office further explained:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Article 6, Section 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution gives the Governor power to grant commutations \u201cupon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as the Governor may deem proper.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Pursuant to that provision, the Governor has ordered that Jones shall not be eligible to apply for or be considered for a commutation, pardon, or parole for the remainder of his life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Julius Jones was set to be executed at 4 p.m. local time on Thursday. He was convicted of murdering Paul Howell in the midst of a carjacking in 1999. Jones has maintained he did not commit the crime, even though the Howell family still believes that he is guilty.<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/julius-jones-executed-clemency\">reported<\/a> by Fox News, \u201cJones maintains he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and co-defendant who testified against him and was released from prison after 15 years.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Howell\u2019s sister, Megan Tobey, testified to the Pardon and Parole Board \u201cthat she distinctly remembers seeing Jones shoot her brother in front of his two young daughters,\u201d the outlet noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe is the same person today as he was 22 years ago. He\u2019s still getting into trouble. He\u2019s still in a gang. He\u2019s still lying. And he still feels no shame, guilt or remorse for his action,\u201d Tobey said. \u201cWe need Julius Jones to be held responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Pardon and Parole Board had given the recommendation that Jones\u2019 sentence be changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2021\/11\/18\/us\/julius-jones-oklahoma-execution-decision\/index.html\">reported<\/a> by CNN, the case received much focus in the past few years, partially because of an ABC documentary series, \u201cThe Last Defense,\u201d which detailed his situation in 2018.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.change.org\/p\/julius-jones-is-innocent-don-t-let-him-be-executed-by-the-state-of-oklahoma\">change.org<\/a> petition has also received over 6 million signatures asking the governor to stop the execution from going through.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The online petition stated:<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">At the time of the crime for which he was convicted, Julius was a 19-year-old student athlete with a promising future, attending the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship. It is clear that Julius\u2019 lawyer did not adequately defend him, and that explicit racial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Thursday, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt (R) stopped the execution of an inmate convicted of murder, instead commuting his sentence to life in prison with no parole.Governor Stitt released a statement saying, \u201cAfter prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones\u2019 sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.\u201dThe announcement from the governor\u2019s office further explained:Article 6, Section 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution gives the Governor power to grant commutations \u201cupon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as the Governor may deem proper.\u201d Pursuant to that provision, the Governor has ordered that Jones shall not be eligible to apply for or be considered for a commutation, pardon, or parole for the remainder of his life.Julius Jones was set to be executed at 4 p.m. local time on Thursday. He was convicted of murdering Paul Howell in the midst of a carjacking in 1999. Jones has maintained he did not commit the crime, even though the Howell family still believes that he is guilty.As reported by Fox News, \u201cJones maintains he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and co-defendant who testified against him and was released from prison after 15 years.\u201dHowell\u2019s sister, Megan Tobey, testified to the Pardon and Parole Board \u201cthat she distinctly remembers seeing Jones shoot her brother in front of his two young daughters,\u201d the outlet noted.\u201cHe is the same person today as he was 22 years ago. He\u2019s still getting into trouble. He\u2019s still in a gang. He\u2019s still lying. And he still feels no shame, guilt or remorse for his action,\u201d Tobey said. \u201cWe need Julius Jones to be held responsible.\u201dThe Pardon and Parole Board had given the recommendation that Jones\u2019 sentence be changed to life in prison with the possibility of parole.As reported by CNN, the case received much focus in the past few years, partially because of an ABC documentary series, \u201cThe Last Defense,\u201d which detailed his situation in 2018.A change.org petition has also received over 6 million signatures asking the governor to stop the execution from going through.The online petition stated:At the time of the crime for which he was convicted, Julius was a 19-year-old student athlete with a promising future, attending the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship. It is clear that Julius\u2019 lawyer did not adequately defend him, and that explicit racial bias played a significant role in the process.It went on to note that \u201cEyewitnesses place Mr. Jones at his parents\u2019 home at the time of the murder, miles away from the crime scene.\u201d\u201cMr. Jones\u2019 co-defendant admitted to being involved in the crime and is now free after testifying against Julius. He was heard bragging that he \u2018set Julius up.\u2019 Mr. Jones\u2019 co-defendant matches the only eyewitness description of the shooter based on the length of his hair,\u201d it added.\u201cJones\u2019 clemency petition says he\u2019s been on death row because of \u2018fundamental breakdowns in the system tasked with deciding\u2019 his guilt, including ineffective and inexperienced defense attorneys, racial bias among his jury and alleged prosecutorial misconduct,\u201d CNN noted.Protestors came together outside of the governor\u2019s residence in Oklahoma in recent days to push the governor to take action. Celebrities have also gotten involved in highlighting the case, such as reality television star and businesswoman Kim Kardashian, as well as actor Kerry Washington, and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield. Students at Oklahoma City high schools staged walkouts in defiance of the execution as well.Jones\u2019 mother also spoke out at a press conference on the night before the scheduled execution.\u201cIf you think Julius is guilty, give him a fair trial. Do it over again, do it right!\u201d Davis-Jones said as the crowd cheered. \u201cIf my child is executed tomorrow or any day, it should be without a doubt. Not even a little bit of doubt.\u201dThe Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1028837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1028837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1028837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1028837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1028837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1028837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}