The profile of Jones’ case grew significantly after it was featured in “The Last Defense,” a three-episode documentary produced by actress Viola Davis that aired on ABC in 2018. Jones was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to die for the 1999 shooting death of Paul Howell, a businessman from the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond, during a carjacking. “It’s a shame that it’s gotten this far, 24 hours away.” Been trying to get the facts stated and the truth to be told for a while,” Mayfield said. “That’s not something that’s easy to talk about. Even Baker Mayfield, quarterback for the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and a Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Oklahoma, weighed in, his eyes filling with tears. Prayer vigils were held at the Oklahoma state Capitol, and barricades were erected outside the governor’s mansion. Jones' looming execution - and Stitt's silence on his decision - prompted high school students across Oklahoma City to walk out of their classes Wednesday, and protests were planned Thursday in Los Angeles Washington Newark, New Jersey and Saint Paul, Minnesota. “Governor Stitt took an important step today towards restoring public faith in the criminal justice system by ensuring that Oklahoma does not execute an innocent man,” Bass said in a statement. The state’s Pardon and Parole Board recommended in a 3-1 vote on November 1 that Stitt commute Jones’ sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole, with several members of the panel agreeing they had doubts about the evidence that led to Jones’ conviction.Īmanda Bass, a lawyer representing Jones, said the team had hoped Stitt would have fully supported the parole board's recommendation of granting Jones a chance at parole, but that they were grateful Jones wouldn't be executed. Earlier, Jones' attorneys had filed a last-minute emergency request seeking a temporary stop to his execution, saying Oklahoma’s lethal injection procedures pose a “serious and substantial risk of severe suffering and pain to prisoners.” The lawyers cited last month’s execution in which John Marion Grant convulsed and vomited as he was being put to death.
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