For nearly two decades, Jones, who is Black, was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, he writes in his pardon petition, for “fundamental breakdowns in the system in charge of deciding” his guilt, including ineffective and inexperienced advocates. , racial bias between his jury and alleged misconduct by the prosecution.
But Paul Howell’s family and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office have denied Jones ’claims of innocence and believe he is guilty of Howell’s murder.
“It means the world to me,” Jones ’younger sister Antoinette Jones told CNN in an interview. “It means we’re not alone anymore. It means we can breathe a little easier because we know other people are willing to fight us.
“I appreciate that we have help now,” she said, “because we didn’t have it 22 years ago.”
“I don’t know where we would be,” she said. “I think it meant an absolute world, that people came together and that the number of supporters was fighting for Julius.”
After all, the pardon decision was in the hands of the governor, who said in a letter to the parole board last month that he would not make a decision based on their recommendation to change Jones ’sentence, instead saying that pardon treatment would be“ an appropriate place “that his case be considered.
“I do not accept the recommendation of the Pardon and Conditional Release Commission to commute Julius Jones’ sentence,” Stitt wrote, “because a pardon hearing, not a change hearing, is an appropriate place for our state to deal with death row inmates.”
Support for Jones is “extremely difficult” for the victim’s family, the daughter says
In a statement to CNN, Howell’s daughter Rachel called the story of Jones “completely wrong” and said Jones, his family and the defense team “want people to believe that Julius Jones is completely innocent, despite the vast amount of evidence against him.” “
“Overall, this was extremely difficult for our family,” she said, “because Julius Jones is still sacrificing us again when we haven’t done absolutely anything wrong.”
“We hope for a pardon hearing this Monday that the pardon and parole commission will look at all sides of this case and make a fair and impartial decision,” she said.
Jones was arrested at 19 years old
Howell was murdered in a car hijacking on the night of July 28, 1999. Around 9:30 p.m., Howell, his adult sister, and his daughters were driven to his parents ’driveway in his 1997 suburb, according to court documents. Howell’s sister ordered his daughters to pack their belongings, and she got out of the vehicle when she heard the shot, court documents say.
Howell’s sister looked back, the court documents say, and saw a black man she said was wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, a black hat and a red bandana over his face. The shooter shot the corner again Howell’s sister and his daughters ran into the house, the documents say. Howell died around 1:45 the next morning.
The then 19-year-old Jones was arrested three days later, on July 31, the day after authorities found a murder weapon wrapped in a red bandana in his family house. He was tried along with co-defendant Christopher Jordan, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison according to online court records after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and conspiracy to rob. Jordan testified against Jones, who was convicted and sentenced to death.
In their pardon application, Jones’ attorneys argue that his conviction was the result of a number of failures, such as his “inexperienced, overworked, and underfunded public advocates.” No one had dealt with the death penalty before Jones, and at trial, lawyers did not present any evidence or call a single witness to Jones’ defense at the stage of his trial, where his guilt was established, the petition said.
As a result, the evidence his team says would acquit Jones was never presented to a jury. Jones’ family, for example, says he was at home with them on the night of the murder, the petition says. The jury also did not show Jones’ photo, taken a few days before Howell’s murder, which the petition says would show it does not match the shooter’s description. Several jurors came forward and stated that this evidence might change the outcome of the case.
There is also the issue of alleged racial bias. According to the petition, one of the jurors later said he heard another juror mention Jones as an n-word. In addition, when Jones was arrested, a police officer also called him by the word n, the petition states.
Jones’ lawyers point to his co-defendant Jordan instead. The petition cites several individuals who say Jordan admitted that he was the one who actually killed Howell. One of these individuals says Jordan told him he hid a murder weapon and a bandana in Jones ’house. The petition says Jordan spent the night at home the day after the murder.
Jordan was released from prison in 2014, according to Jones ’pardon request.
Jones’ request for pardon also contradicts the prosecution’s use of confidential intelligence in his case, and he claims prosecutors misled the jury by failing to disclose the deals they offered to prosecution witnesses, including Jordan. The state prosecutor’s office disputes this, saying that the jury was aware of these benefits and that they did not affect his trial.
“Jones had his day in court”
Rachel Howell and her family, however, fully believe that Jones is guilty of the murder of Paul Howell.
For example, regarding Jones’ allegation of alibi, AG said the alibi was thoroughly investigated and not found to be credible, adding that the allegation was investigated in an evidentiary hearing ordered by the Oklahoma Criminal Court. Jones himself was inconsistent about where he was on the night of the murder, AG said, adding that two of Jones’ attorneys testified that he had told them that his family had made a mistake and that he had not been home when Howell was killed.
The office also drew attention to DNA testing conducted at the request of the defense on the red bandana. The results, as the office noted in a document published in July 2020, show that the main component of the DNA profile matches Jones and excludes Jordan. (Jones’ team responded by saying that DNA test results were limited and Jordan’s DNA could not be ruled out.)
The Office similarly disputes allegations of racial bias, noting that a juror who claimed to have heard another use of the n-word did not specifically raise the issue during Jones’ trial. The court drew attention to another juror’s remark, but after AG’s appeal, the appeal found that it was unlikely that the juror would not have mentioned racial epithet when she reported the second remark.
“Jones had his day in court,” Hunter said. “We’ve heard a lot lately from those advocating his release. I’m here today to support Howell’s family’s request for justice. They’re victims in this case and the pain of their loss is reawakened by every false public call on Jones’ behalf. . ”
No matter what happens on Monday, Antoinette Jones told CNN she keeps Howell’s family in her mind. Although she hopes the parole board will recommend pardoning her brother, “I also pray for the Howell family because I know it will be very difficult for them,” she said. “Because they’re going to have to relive it, just like my parents are going to have to relive it.”
“I am aware of this because a senseless murder took place on Mr Paul Howell,” Antoinette Jones said. “Let’s never forget that.”
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