The lawsuit was filed after the 2014 execution of Clayton Lockett, who suffered a slow, painful death when a drug that had not been used for executions in Oklahoma before was improperly administered. The motion stems from a 2014 lawsuit brought by more than 30 Oklahoma death-row inmates arguing that the state’s lethal-injection protocol is unconstitutional. Monday that could stay the executions of Jones and others scheduled to be put to death. Courts could delay executionsīefore Jones’ Tuesday hearing, the Western District Court of Oklahoma is scheduled to hear a motion at 9 a.m.

“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 in a letter to the board.

Kevin Stitt, who declined to commute Jones’ sentence and said the clemency will provide a better examination of the situation. In dissent was member Richard Smothermon, who expressed concern about “misconduct” violations Jones has received in prison. Voting in favor were Chairman Adam Luck, Vice Chairman Larry Morris and member Kelly Doyle. In a commutation hearing in September, the Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 to recommend Jones’ sentence be commuted to life with the possibility of parole. “They are the very same failures that were identified in the 2017 bipartisan report of the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission as creating ‘the unacceptable risk of executing the innocent.’” “These and other systemic failures led to Julius’s wrongful conviction,” the petition says. He also argues that racial bias played a role in his conviction. He claims he had inadequate council and that the jury never heard potentially exculpatory evidence during the trial. In Jones’ petition seeking clemency from the board, he maintains his innocence. Lawyers representing Jones and state prosecutors will each have 40 minutes to address the board, with the option to reserve some of the time for rebuttal. Clemency hearing proceduresĪt the hearing Tuesday, Jones will have 20 minutes to make his case in front of the board, as will members of Howell’s family. Meanwhile, the board that will hear the clemency case has been under fire from Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor, who have tried to get two board members disqualified from hearing Jones’ case, saying they have a political conflict of interest.Īs Julius Jones’ final hearing approaches, here’s where things stand. Though the clemency hearing will be the last chance for Jones to have his sentence changed, recent developments in a longstanding lawsuit regarding Oklahoma’s death-penalty procedures could delay the executions of Jones and others scheduled to be put to death in coming weeks. Jones has always maintained his innocence, and his case has attracted national and celebrity attention in recent months. The hearing marks his final chance to be taken off death row. Julius Jones, who is on death row for the 1999 murder of Edmond resident Paul Howell, will appear in front of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board for a clemency hearing on Tuesday, Oct. The article below remains in its original form.) 27, an appellate court granted stays in the executions of Julius Jones and John Marion Grant. The decision was immediately appealed, causing Julius Jones’ clemency hearing to be postponed until 9 a.m. 25, Judge Stephen Friot denied the request for a stay discussed in the article below.

Julius jones oklahoma