“I feel terrible for everyone involved in the tragic events of the summer of 1999 however, I do believe that the wrong person is being punished for this crime,” wrote Griffin, an Oklahoma native who starred at the University of Oklahoma before being the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft. Details about Oklahoma’s commutation process are listed on the board’s website. Jones submitted an application for clemency in October to the Pardon and Parole Board, which has the power to recommend sentence commutation (meaning reduction or modification) to the governor. “Unfortunately, I am contacting you today because I believe the state’s criminal justice system is on the verge of carrying out a grave injustice, one that is inconsistent with the values of the Oklahoma I know and love.” The Oklahomans I met are empathetic, kind and just, which is why it was easy to form such a special connection with the state and its people,” wrote Westbrook, a storied leader of the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2008-2019. “I love Oklahoma and the time I spent there. Kevin Stitt and the membership of the state’s Pardon and Parole Board urging a sentence commutation for Julius Jones, a man sentenced to death for a 1999 murder he maintains he did not commit. “We need Julius Jones to be held responsible.NBA superstars Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook and Trae Young have each sent letters to Oklahoma Gov. And he still feels no shame, guilt or remorse for his action,” Tobey said. “He is the same person today as he was 22 years ago. Paul Howell’s sister, Megan Tobey, testified before the board that she distinctly remembers seeing Jones shoot her brother in front of his two young daughters. “It also failed Julius by condemning him to death for something he did not do.” “In these ways and more, the criminal justice system failed Mr. Jones said in his commutation filing that the gun and bandanna were planted there by the actual killer.īut Jones’ attorney, Amanda Bass, said his criminal trial was corrupted by the use of junk forensic science, jailhouse informants and a plea deal for the co-defendant who testified against him. Investigators also found the murder weapon and a bandanna with Jones’ DNA in an attic space above his bedroom. Trial transcripts show witnesses identified Jones as the shooter and placed him with Howell’s stolen vehicle. Jones also maintains his trial was contaminated by a racist juror, but the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rejected that claim. But Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and former state Attorney General Mike Hunter have said the evidence against Jones is overwhelming. Jones alleges he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and former co-defendant who was a key prosecution witness. Since then, reality television star Kim Kardashian West and athletes with Oklahoma ties, including NBA stars Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin and Trae Young, have urged Stitt to commute Jones’ death sentence and spare his life. Jones’ case drew attention after it was profiled in “The Last Defense,” a three-episode documentary produced by actress Viola Davis that aired on ABC in 2018. She also said Jones has had so much money deposited into his inmate account in the last couple of years that he has sent $18,000 to family and friends. “Jones repeatedly and unequivocally told his attorneys that his parents were mistaken and that he was not at home the night of the murder,” said Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Crabb.Ĭrabb said Jones is a recognized member of the Bloods gang and that he has continued to commit criminal acts while in prison, including possessing contraband and using other inmate’s pin numbers to make telephone calls.
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