Julius Jones, 40, convicted in 2002 of a 1999 murder, is scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma next Thursday — despite doubts about his guilt. The doubts are so compelling that the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board (OPPB) has now twice recommended that the Governor commute his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. For that recommendation to take effect Oklahoma’s governor, Kevin Stitt, has to agree. And here is where difficulties arise.
The state’s Attorney General, John O’Connor, is lobbying the governor to proceed with the execution. O’Connor is so determined to see Jones dead that he campaigned on the promise he would see him executed no matter what the evidence might show. The Black Wall Street Times quotes an unnamed source, “He’s [O’Connor] basing it on closure for the [Howell] family,” they said. “That and Julius’s past legal troubles as a young teenager, rather than the facts of the case.”
O’Connor is not just Oklahoma’s top law enforcement official he is a mentor to Stitt, which gives him significant influence over the Governor. If Stitt does nothing, which is the easiest thing to do, Jones will be executed. And this seems likely, as Oklahoma is America’s most enthusiastic death penalty state. Texas may lead in total executions. But on a per capita basis, Oklahoma leads Texas by 40% — making it America’s number one death state.
James is Black. Which should be irrelevant. But it is America, and you cannot talk about criminal justice without reference to race. And it is reasonable to speculate how it would play out if Jones were white. Civil rights groups and liberal politicians have been vocal in protesting the injustice. Kim Kardashian visited Jones on November 23rd, 2020, as part of her campaign to highlight race disparities in the criminal justice system. And the case has even attracted international condemnation.
But lest anyone think it is a partisan issue, five Republican Oklahoma lawmakers have petitioned the Governor for a sentence remission. One of them, Rep Garry Mize said in a news release,
“The last thing the state should be doing is taking the life of someone who may be innocent. There is too much doubt here, especially given that Julius Jones’ co-defendant has confessed to being the real murderer. We can’t move forward with an execution under these circumstances in good conscience. I hope and pray Gov. Stitt accepts the recommendation of his Parole Board.”
And Rep. John Talley, said
“If we believe, as conservatives, in law and order and the criminal justice system, then we have to make sure the system is getting it right. In this case, the Pardon and Parole Board spent several hours looking at the case, during two separate hearings and determined that it may not have. We should not execute a man in that context.”
The parole board itself is conservative. But as its Chairman Adam Luck said
“Personally, I believe in death penalty cases there should be no doubts. And put simply, I have doubts about the case.”
The jury convicted Jones of killing Paul Howell during a car hijacking. Jones's co-defendant Christopher Jordan provided damning evidence. However, Jordan later admitted to three fellow inmates, at different times, that he and not James had killed Howell. However, police did discover the murder weapon and other evidence in Jones's house. Did he commit the murder? I do not know. But I do know that to execute a man with that much doubt is unChristian. And it does not serve the interests of justice.
I am against the death penalty. Yes, there are times when the accused has competent and sober legal representation. And the evidence is so compelling, the crime so heinous, that I want to pull the lever myself. But I have philosophical objections. As long as the death penalty exists, the state will execute innocent people. And the state cheapens life by making itself the arbiter of who lives and who dies. And I have practical objections. Capital punishment is expensive — with the seemingly endless appeals and procedural hurdles. And upon conviction, the average time spent on death row is now 22 years.
Oklahoma has a particularly brutal record of botched executions. In the last one on October 28th, the convicted John Grant was not smooth. As Dan Snyder, an eyewitness and an anchor at the Oklahoma TV channel Fox 25, reported,
“Almost immediately after the drug was administered, Grant began convulsing, so much so that his entire upper back repeatedly lifted off the gurney. As the convulsions continued, Grant then began to vomit. Multiple times over the course of the next few minutes medical staff entered the death chamber to wipe away and remove vomit from the still-breathing Grant.”
It took 15 minutes for Grant to be declared unconscious by medical staff, after which the vecuronium bromide, which paralyses the body, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart, were given.
But that pales in comparison to the 2014 execution of Clayton Lockett, who writhed on the execution gurney for 43 minutes before the end came. NB: Lockett and Grant were Black.
Is not a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, served in a concrete box, with lousy food, limited social contact, minimal time outside the cell, and being shut away from family, a sufficiently harsh punishment? Jones is 40. He could expect to serve another 40, maybe 50 years, on top of the 17 already spent in prison.