8/25/2023 0 Comments Justice for julius jones updateJordan, on the other hand, had longer hair. Photographs from days before the murder show Jones with a closely shaved head. Howell’s sister, and the only witness to the crime, described the shooter as a Black man wearing a stocking cap with half an inch of hair hanging out. “Even if I get out of here tomorrow, I can't get back 21-plus years.” While in prison, Jordan allegedly told his cellmates that he had framed Jones for the crime. He received a 30-year sentence and was released after 15 years. Jordan, a police informant, claimed Jones was the shooter. The case against Jones involved three suspects who alleged that Jones and a high school basketball teammate, Christopher Jordan, murdered Paul Howell, a white insurance agent. Jones’ case attracted new attention during the national movement for racial justice sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in May, and celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Blake Griffin, and John Legend have called for Jones’ release. “I have spent the past 20 years on death row for a crime I did not commit, did not witness and was not at,” Jones, now 40, wrote in his 2019 commutation application, which is part of his 10th and ongoing appeal, his final hope in avoiding execution. And now that Oklahoma is restarting capital punishment after a five-year hiatus because of two botched executions, Jones and his advocates are afraid he could be next. He’s been unsuccessful in nine attempts to have his case reviewed. Almost 20 years later, he still sits on death row in Oklahoma. Jones, who was 19 when he was arrested, was sentenced to death in 2002. Advocates also say the evidence never stacked up the case against Jones was largely based on informant testimony, but he didn’t match the description of the killer. On top of the racial bias, Jones’ own state-appointed defense attorney says his legal team failed to defend him adequately.
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