![]() ![]() Jones had been scheduled to be executed Thursday afternoon for the murder of Paul Howell in 1999. She was a member of Julius Jones’ legal delegation at his Sept. 13 commutation hearing.The death sentence of Julius Jones was commuted by Oklahoma’s governor Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, stopping his impending execution. Kelli Masters is an attorney and sports agent who resides in Oklahoma. How can we say we are for law and order if we don’t protect the life of Julius Jones? Our laws exist to protect the rights of the innocent. Executing a man for a crime he didn’t commit is not justice. But I also believe - after considering all the evidence - that our justice system failed in Julius Jones' case and is at risk of sending an innocent man to his death. I believe in law and order, that crime victims deserve justice, and that our justice system works most of the time. In Jones' case, that principle is especially important in light of significant evidence that he is innocent and was wrongly convicted due to breakdowns in our system of justice. The United States Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals have both said that executive clemency is designed to show mercy in cases, like Jones', where there are important issues and evidence that courts have not been able to consider because of the strict standards of review and procedural rules they must apply. ![]() Third, the jury never knew that the prosecution promised Christopher Jordan that he would get out of prison in just 15 years, in exchange for blaming Jones for the crime that Jordan admitted to - to multiple, disinterested witnesses who have since come forward to attest to that fact, under oath. But they never testified because Jones' lawyers - who had never handled a death penalty case before - decided not to call a single witness in his defense at the first stage of the trial. Second, Jones' mother, father, sister and older brother were all adamant Jones was at home when Mr. The description of the hair sticking out fit Jones' co-defendant, Christopher Jordan, who testified against Jones to avoid the death penalty. The jury was never shown a photograph of Jones, taken just days before the shooting, showing his hair (which was shaved at the time) was too short to fit that description. ![]() I was troubled to discover that the jury didn’t have three key pieces of evidence that would have demonstrated Jones' innocence.įirst, the only eyewitness to Paul Howell’s tragic murder described the shooter as having half-an-inch of hair sticking out from underneath a stocking cap. I read the trial transcripts, the appellate and post-conviction records, all the briefs and opinions that had been filed, and I reviewed the new evidence that has come to light since Jones' trial. Because I had questions about Jones' case and wanted to know more for myself, I investigated. I also feel strongly, however, that before someone is executed, there should be a high degree of certainty about the person’s guilt. I believe our justice system gets it right most of the time, and I support the death penalty in appropriate cases. I first heard about Jones’ case in May 2020 and was initially skeptical about his claim to innocence. One of those mistakes was the conviction and death sentence of Julius Jones, whom I firmly believe is innocent of the crime for which he awaits execution. I believe in our legal system, but I also know it is capable of mistakes. I am a Christian, a lifelong Oklahoman, a former law clerk for the Honorable Gary Lumpkin on the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, and former appointee to the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Professional Responsibility Tribunal, where I served for six years. ![]()
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