OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma's governor spared the life of Julius Jones, just hours before his scheduled execution Thursday that had drawn widespread outcry and protests over doubts about his guilt in the slaying of a businessman more than 20 years ago.
Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted the 41-year-old Jones' death sentence to life imprisonment. He had been scheduled for execution at 4 p.m.
"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," Stitt said in a news release.
A crowd of Jones' supporters at the Oklahoma Capitol broke out into loud applause and cheers when the decision was announced and more than 100 supporters who had gathered outside the prison in McAlester brioke out in cheers.
"Today is a day of celebration. It's a day to recognize all the people who have come together to be able to fight for Julius," said the Rev. Keith Jossell, Jones' spiritual adviser.
Jones' mother released a statement Thursday expressing her gratitude.
"For over twenty years, I have been haunted by the idea of watching my baby boy die in an execution chamber for a murder that occurred when he was home with his family," Madeline Davis-Jones said. "I still believe that every day Julius spends behind bars is an injustice and I will never stop speaking out for him or fighting to free him. But today is a good day and I am thankful to Governor Stitt for that."
Earlier Thursday, Jones' attorneys 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 hurled as he was put to death.
Oklahoma's methods for capital punishment have been a concern for years. Just Wednesday, in a separate death row case, the state's Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to grant clemency, citing lethal injection protocols.
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Earlier this month, that same board also recommended in a 3-1 vote that Stitt commute Jones' sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Several panel members said they doubted the evidence that led to his conviction.
Amanda Bass, a lawyer representing Jones, said the team had hoped Stitt would grant Jones a chance at parole, but they were grateful that he wasn't being executed.
"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.
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.
Jones alleges he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and co-defendant who was a key witness against him. He and his family maintain he was at home the night of Howell's murder, eating dinner and playing games with his siblings, and that the jury was never told this information at trial.
But Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and the state's former attorney general, Mike Hunter, have said the evidence against Jones is overwhelming. Oklahoma's current attorney general, John O'Connor, said Thursday that he respected Stitt's decision to commute the sentence but that he remained convinced of Jones' guilt.
"We are greatly disappointed that after 22 years, four appeals, including the review of 13 appellate judges, the work of the investigators, prosecutors, jurors and the trial judge have been set aside," O'Connor said.
Information from trial transcripts shows that witnesses identified Jones as the shooter and placed him with Howell's stolen vehicle.
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Investigators also found the murder weapon wrapped in a bandana with Jones' DNA in an attic space above his bedroom. Jones claimed in his commutation filing that the gun and bandanna were planted there by the actual killer, who visited Jones' house after the killing.
Howell's sister, Megan Tobey, and two young daughters were in Howell's SUV when the carjacking happened in his parents' driveway. Tobey testified before the board that she saw Jones shoot her brother.
"We know Governor Stitt had a difficult decision to make," the Howell family said Thursday in a statement. "We take comfort that his decision affirmed the guilt of Julius Jones and that he shall not be eligible to apply for, or be considered for, a commutation, pardon or parole for the remainder of his life."
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Miller of The Associated Press.
