Who is Julius Jones?

Julius Jones has been at the centre of a controversial case connected to the killing of a businessman more than two decades ago. The 41-year-old was on death row in the state of Oklahoma as the prime suspect in the death of Paul Howell.

Kevin Stitt, a member of the Republican party and the Governor of Oklahoma, spared the life of Jones on Thursday hours before he was scheduled to be executed after Jones’ attorneys filed a last-minute emergency request seeking a temporary stop to his execution.

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Who is Julius Jones?

A former student of the University of Oklahoma, Jones was just 19 years old when he was linked to the murder of Paul Howell in August 1999. According to reports from OU Daily, he was about to collect his basketball scholarship when he was detained by law enforcement officials.

After a trial that spanned for nearly three years, he was convicted of first degree murder and was given a death sentence by an American court when he was 22 years old.

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.

After that, reality television star Kim Kardashian West and other professional athletes with Oklahoma ties, including NBA stars Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin and Trae Young, urged Stitt to commute Jones’ death sentence and spare his life, according to reports from Associated Press.

Jones alleges he was framed by the actual killer, a high school friend and a former co-defendant who was a key witness against him. But Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and the state’s former attorney general, Mike Hunter, have said the evidence against Jones is overwhelming.