The death penalty is the only sentence that we cannot undo.” The jury that sentenced Julius to death only included one black man and at least one juror harbored racial prejudice that influenced his vote to convict and sentence Julius to death. Oklahoma County District One Commissioner Carrie Blumert wrote, “The evidence used to convict Julius was inconsistent and several eyewitnesses provided an alibi for Julius. Statistics also show that Oklahoma has wielded the death penalty against African American men disproportionately.” Jones’ troubling case sadly includes instances of prosecutorial misconduct, compromised forensic evidence and disproportionate sentencing. A man by the name of Julius Jones has been on death row in Oklahoma, despite compelling evidence of an unreliable murder conviction and racial bias that has adversely affected his case,” the Alliance wrote. Due to the lack of accountability, a grave injustice continues to transpire in our state, and it has spanned two decades. “Governor Stitt, we write to you today seeking justice in Oklahoma, in the form of accountability. This prejudice took place during the time that Julius was tried and sentenced.”Ī letter from the Black Ministerial Alliance of Oklahoma City similarly highlighted concerns about both racial bias and innocence. We now know that a black defendant like Julius, accused of killing a white male victim in Oklahoma is nearly three times more likely to receive a death sentence than if his victim were a nonwhite male. “It is also worth noting that there is a new detailed statistical study of racial bias in the application of the death penalty in Oklahoma. “Racial bias has absolutely no place in our justice system, and it is clear that Julius’ constitutional right to a fair trial was denied,” the letter states. A group of five evangelical Christian leaders submitted a letter expressing “disgust” at the racist statements made by the juror, and the judge’s lack of response. The letters supporting Jones’ clemency petition directed the attention of the governor and the pardon board to a range of concerns about his case. A DPIC analysis of death row and execution data has found that the county has the highest number of prisoners executed or facing execution per capita of any county with a combined 25 or more death row prisoners/executions. Oklahoma County is the only county in the United States outside of Texas to have executed more than 41 prisoners since the death penalty was reinstituted in the United States in the 1970s. A ThinkProgress report in 2015 chronicled the history of misconduct in capital prosecutions during that era. Jones was prosecuted under the administration of the late “Cowboy Bob” Macy, who sent 54 people to death row during the 21 years he served as Oklahoma County District Attorney. Coakley issued a statement supporting Jones’ clemency application and reality television celebrity Kim Kardashian West posted a tweet asking her 62 million twitter followers to ask the pardon board and Governor Kevin Stitt to give “careful and thoughtful consideration” to Jones’ petition. In addition, the Catholic Archbishop of Oklahoma City Paul S. They join the Oklahoma NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, and Oklahoma Representative George Young, who had previously raised concerns about Jones’ case. The clemency petition was accompanied by letters of support from faith and civil rights leaders, and Oklahoma County commissioner, Witness to Innocence, and Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform. Years after the trial, a juror reported that another juror had made racist comments, including saying “they should just take the n****r out and shoot him behind the jail.” The reporting juror said she had told the judge about the comment at the time, but no action was taken. Jordan made a deal with prosecutors to testify against Jones and served 15 years. An eyewitness description of the shooter matched Jordan’s appearance, not Jones’. Jones’ court-appointed trial lawyers failed to call any of several available alibi witnesses, did not cross-examine his co-defendant, Christopher Jordan, and did not call Jones to testify on his own behalf. Jones, who is black, was convicted and sentenced to death by a nearly all-white jury for the 1999 killing of a white businessman. The petition, filed on October 15, 2019, has drawn support from a diverse range of civic, civil rights, and faith leaders and criminal justice experts. Lawyers for Oklahoma death-row prisoner Julius Jones (pictured) have petitioned the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board for clemency, arguing that Jones was wrongly convicted and that his trial was tainted by racial bias.
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