“Julius was a bright, young man with a promising future from a ‘good family.’ And if this could happen to the Jones family, then this could happen to so, so many people.”Īfter the documentary aired, the petition drive to spare Jones’ life caught fire. “And I think really, further, what really caught the hearts of people was, you know, this could happen to anybody,” she said. The documentary, Jones-Davis says, explained Jones’ story simply, in a way that resonated with her and so many others. Jones-Davis attributes the mass public support for Jones in large part to The Last Defense, a documentary produced by Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress Viola Davis that aired on ABC. During the trial, a white male juror reportedly used a racial slur to describe Jones and, even before deliberation began, told another juror he believed they should take Jones out and shoot him behind the jail. Bass said witnesses were also available who could have testified that Jordan had admitted to the shooting. The jury also never learned that Jones’ co-defendant, Chris Jordan, fit the description, and prosecutors did not disclose that Jordan received a 15-year sentence for implicating Jones. A photograph of him that that his jury never saw would have established that he didn’t fit that eyewitness description.”

But, Bass says, “t the time, Julius’ hair was shaved. A statement from the victim’s sister described the shooter as having a half-inch of hair sticking out from underneath a stocking cap. Jones’ family could have testified that he was at home with them playing monopoly at the time of the murder. Jones’ lawyers failed to investigate and present available alibi evidence and significant flaws in the prosecution’s case. “So, at the very get-go, didn’t stand much of a chance,” Bass said. He was saddled with inexperienced lawyers in a case immediately racialized by District Attorney “Cowboy Bob” Macy, who, in his 21-year-tenure as Oklahoma County District Attorney, sent 54 people to death row.

Jones, who is Black, was 19 years old when he was charged with killing a prominent white businessman. Why Julius Jones’ Case Attracted International AttentionĪ confluence of factors contributed to the global interest in Jones’ case, starting with his powerful claim of innocence and the racially charged nature of the murder and the legal proceedings. They find that thought sobering because, as Bass says, “there are so many Julius Joneses in the system … don’t have the spotlight or the visibility” that Jones’ case received. Jones-Davis and Bass believe that, without the worldwide attention to Jones’ case, he likely would have been executed. “For me,” she said, “I felt relief that we wouldn’t be watching Julius die that day” but disappointment that the governor would deny an innocent man an opportunity to secure his freedom. “For not to take their recommendation, not just once, but twice, … that was so disheartening.” Bass, who was with Jones helping him prepare his last message to his family and his supporters, had similarly mixed feelings. “We had fought so hard to bring the issues in Julius’ case … to public awareness,” Jones-Davis said. Jones-Davis and Bass describe how Jones, his family, and his supporters felt when Governor Stitt spared Jones’ life but rejected the pardons board’s recommendation that he be resentenced to life with the possibility of parole. Jones-Davis, who is no relation to Julius Jones, is the founder and director of the #JusticeforJulius coalition, which led efforts to educate the public about Jones’ case and obtained more than 6.5 million signatures on a petition calling for clemency. Jones-Davis is an ordained minister and an advocate for criminal legal reform. She has been part of Jones’ Oklahoma legal team since 2016. They discuss how incompetent representation and prosecutorial misconduct sent Jones to death row in Oklahoma County, how advocacy on his innocence and about racial bias in his case led to the commutation of his death sentence four hours before it was to be carried out, and what comes next in the continuing efforts to set Jones free.īass is a supervisory assistant federal public defender in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Arizona. In the February 2022 episode of Discussions with DPIC, federal public defender, Amanda Bass (pictured, right), and Justice for Julius advocate Cece Jones-Davis (pictured, left) speak with Death Penalty Information Center Managing Director Anne Holsinger about the questionable conviction and near execution of former Oklahoma death-row prisoner, Julius Jones.

Julius jones update