Without any information from the governor’s office on whether to pardon the death row inmate Julius Jones, Governor Kevin Stitt has some choices to make.
In just 22 hours, Jones will be executed at McAlester, unless the governor intervenes. Wednesday was the third consecutive day of vigils at the State Capitol, as family members see Jones for the last time.
After the Oklahoma Pardon and Release Council twice recommended that he be pardoned for life because of doubts about his guilt and concerns about his sentence, it is now up to the Governor.
Stitt could:
- Deny leniency, which would let the execution go
- Give leniency and change the sentence to life imprisonment
- Give leniency and allow for conditional release
- Without acting at all, something that would let the execution go
The latter option would be somewhat surprising. When the board first recommended a reshuffle in September, the governor said no because he wanted to make the decision after a leniency hearing.
The Oklahoma governors have historically followed these recommendations, but sometimes they did not. Former Governor Frank Keating spoke to KOCO 5 last night about how he was dealing with such decisions.
“This single piece of evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, is the killer; each of the prosecutors said yes, that ‘s right. Okay. “Then I would bring the defense attorney and ask the exact same question,” Keating told KOCO 5.
Wednesday night, the state waits to hear what Stitt will do. He could make a decision at any time. Unless lenient, Jones will be executed at McAlester at 4 p.m.
