Stitt postponing decision about Jones execution until after clemency hearing
Gov. Kevin Stitt announced Tuesday he is not accepting the state Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation to commute the death sentence of Julius Jones.
Stitt said he will not make a final decision until after the Oct. 26 clemency hearing before the board. He informed the board in a letter.
“I am not accepting the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation to commute the sentence of Julius Jones because a clemency hearing, not a commutation hearing, is the appropriate venue for our state to consider death row cases,” Stitt said.
Jones, 41, is facing execution for the 1999 fatal shooting of Edmond insurance executive Paul Howell during a carjacking. Jurors chose the death penalty as punishment at a 2002 trial.
Jones has been scheduled for execution on Nov. 18.
However, the Pardon and Parole Board earlier this month voted in favor of recommending Stitt commute Jones’
death sentence.
The board, on a vote of 3-1, recommended Jones’ death sentence be changed to life with the possibility of parole. Parole board members Adam Luck, Larry Morris and Kelly Doyle voted in favor of recommending commutation, while Richard Smothermon voted against.
Under state law, death row inmates are provided clemency hearings at least 21 days prior to their execution date. A clemency hearing for Jones is set for Oct. 26.
“Clemency hearings are more intensive and thorough than a commutation hearing and include the option for the inmate to speak publicly before the Pardon and Parole Board as well as the victim’s family and attorneys from both sides,” Stitt said. “The precedent in Oklahoma is for death row inmates to receive the clemency hearings to which they are entitled prior to their execution date.”
In a statement, the Howell family said they are pleased with Stitt’s decision.
“However, our family also realizes that the clemency hearing for Julius Jones Jones will be held before the same Pardon and Parole Board members that irresponsibly and recklessly recommended his commutation,” the family said. “We can only hope that this time they will follow the established rules without bias and represent our family and the people of Oklahoma with impartiality . . . but honestly, we do not expect a different outcome from the board.”
Jones was 19 at the time of his arrest. He claims he is innocent and was framed by the actual killer.
In a letter to the board prior to their commutation recommendation, Jones wrote:
“The truth is: I did not kill Mr. Howell. I did not participate in any way in his murder; and the first time I saw him was on television when his death was reported.”
In the letter, Jones said he was never given a chance to share his alibi, and “despite the fact that I was at home with my siblings and parents during the time of the murder, my lawyer never saw fit to call them to the stand.”
Howell was gunned down in his parents’ driveway in Edmond after a backto-school shopping trip with his daughters. His sister told police the shooter wore a red bandanna on his face. Police later found the murder weapon wrapped in a red bandanna in the attic above a bedroom at the home of Jones’ parents.
The case has garnered attention from celebrities and athletes across the country who have voiced support for Jones’ commutation.