By Darla Shelden, Metropolis Sentinel Reporter —
OKLAHOMA CITY – A latest ballot reveals {that a} majority of Oklahomans imagine that Governor Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board ought to commute the sentence of Julius Jones, an Oklahoman on loss of life row for a homicide he says he didn’t commit.
The ballot was carried out by the Oklahoma public affairs agency Amber Built-in from June 24-June 28. It included a pool of 500 registered voters in Oklahoma and has a margin of error of 4.38 % at a 95 % confidence interval.
Julius Jones was arrested and convicted of the 1999 homicide of Paul Howell, an Edmond businessman who was shot and killed throughout a carjacking. Jones, who was 19 on the time of the taking pictures, has maintained his innocence and says he was nowhere close to the scene of the crime.
Since his trial, a number of inmates have independently signed sworn affidavits alleging that Julius’ co-defendant framed him for the homicide and testified in opposition to him in return for a plea deal.
The ballot discovered that fifty % of Republicans, 73 % of Democrats and 65 % of independents assist commuting Jones’ sentence to “one thing apart from loss of life.” Simply 29 % of Republicans, 20 % of Democrats and 12 % of independents favor shifting ahead together with his execution.
Whereas Black voters overwhelmingly assist commutation, at 72 %, a stable majority (57 %) of white voters additionally assist commuting Jones’ sentence.
Help for Jones comes regardless of an aggressive pro-execution marketing campaign waged by each former Oklahoma Legal professional Normal Mike Hunter and Oklahoma County District Legal professional David Prater, who has resisted calls to show over his workplace’s case information.
Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, a religion chief and an activist with the Justice for Julius Marketing campaign, stated the polling outcomes present a rising consciousness that the proof in Jones’ case factors to his innocence.
“Oklahomans of all political ideologies, all races and all ages don’t assist killing somebody who’s harmless,” stated Jones-Davis. “It’s so simple as that.”
Over 6 million individuals have signed the petition calling for a commutation of Julius’ sentence on Change.org.
Celeb activists that embody Kim Kardashian, Bryan Stevenson, Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Baker Mayfield and Trae Younger have all labored to lift the profile of Jones’ case.
On September 13, Jones could have a “Section Two” commutation listening to in entrance of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. He’s the primary particular person on loss of life row in Oklahoma to obtain such a listening to.
“We’ve got been saying for years that if anybody takes a detailed have a look at Julius’ case, it’s apparent that he didn’t obtain a good trial and that Julius is harmless,” stated Federal Public Defender Dale Baich, a member of Julius’ authorized crew.
“Because the individuals of Oklahoma study extra about Julius and his circumstances, they’re drawing that very same conclusion,” Baich continued. “Our hope now’s that the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and Governor Stitt strategy his case with the identical rigor and open-mindedness that the general public has.”
Click on right here to learn particulars of the total ballot (see p. 6) and right here to view the crosstabs (see p. 6).
For extra details about Julius Jones’ case, go to justiceforjuliusjones.com.
