Board member Scott Williams recused himself from the decision to avoid any appearance of conflict arising out of a professional relationship with one of Jones’ lawyers in an unrelated matter. I wasn’t involved in it in any way.”īoard members Adam Luck, Larry Morris, and Kelly Doyle voted in favor of recommending commutation, while Richard Smothermon voted against clemency. … Truth is,” Jones said, “I didn’t shoot that man. … Second, I am not the person responsible for taking Mr. Paul Howell, who I’ve heard was a caring and all-around good person. Testifying by video conference, Jones told the board: “First, I feel for the Howell family, for the tragic loss of Mr. His case has garnered worldwide attention amidst evidence of racial bias, incompetent representation, and possible innocence. Jones, who is Black, is scheduled to be executed November 18 on charges that he murdered Paul Howell, a white businessman, in 1999. 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.The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has for a second time recommended that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt grant clemency to death-row prisoner Julius Jones (pictured during the clemency hearing).įollowing a hearing on November 1, 2021, the board, citing doubts about Jones’ guilt, voted 3-1 to ask Stitt to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. ![]() Jones’ attorneys say the jury also never heard from several individuals who have testified that Jordan admitted killing Howell and framing Jones. 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.
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