Julius Jones will not be executed today, following a decision made by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt. Jones was scheduled to be executed today after being convicted of first-degree murder in 1999, for which he has argued his innocence for over twenty years. After a review of the case and “prayerful consideration,” Stitt decided to commute Jones’ death sentence.
“After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” said Stitt on Thursday.
This comes following pleas made from Kim Kardashian (who has been advocating for Jones’ freedom for years) and J. Cole, who tweeted about the case to raise awareness this week. Cole retweeted a thread that Kim posted about Jones’ execution, saying, “Read this please. Then share. Oklahoma is a day away from executing a man. The evidence that this man is innocent is overwhelming. So much so that the state parole board recommended to the governor that he not be executed. With 1 day left of his life, the governor hasn’t acted.”
Jones’ attorney Amanda Bass said Stitt’s decision marked an “important step” but that his family was hoping for a result that kept the possibility of parole on the table.