Julius Jones supporters gather outside Oklahoma governor’s house ahead of execution
Julius Jones is set to be executed by the state of Oklahoma on Thursday.
Mr Jones’s family and supporters - a group that includes celebrities like Kim Kardashian and basketball player Russell Westbrook - have been pressuring Oklahoma’s Governor Kevin Stitt to commute the man’s sentence to life in prison, but so far Mr Stitt has not indicated he is considering a reversal.
Mr Stitt is also facing international pressure after the European Union’s ambassador to the US penned a letter calling on him to stop the execution and a petition against the execution has garnered more than 6 million signatures.
Jones, 41, has spent more than half of his life in prison after he was charged and convicted of the murder of Paul Howell during a 1999 carjacking. He has maintained that he is innocent of the crime and was framed by his then-friend and co-defendant, who allegedly actually shot Mr Howell.
The state has scheduled Jones to death by lethal injection, making him only the second prisoner to be executed since the state took a six year break from using the deadly drug concoction after a series of botched executions. The first person to be executed since the moratorium was lifted, a 60 year old inmate, convulsed and vomited during the execution, which raised further questions about the drugs.
Jones and his supporters have been visiting Mr Stitt’s office in the days leading up to the execution in an attempt to secure a meeting to discuss a stay of execution. ABC’s documentary The Last Defense explores Jones’ fight to avoid the death penalty and attracted the support of celebrities, especially those with ties to Oklahoma.
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