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 JonesвЂ™ 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 didnвЂ™t fit that eyewitness description.вЂќ But, Bass says, вЂњt the time, JuliusвЂ™ hair was shaved. A statement from the victimвЂ™s sister described the shooter as having a half-inch of hair sticking out from underneath a stocking cap. JonesвЂ™ family could have testified that he was at home with them playing monopoly at the time of the murder. JonesвЂ™ lawyers failed to investigate and present available alibi evidence and significant flaws in the prosecutionвЂ™s case. вЂњSo, at the very get-go, didnвЂ™t stand much of a chance,вЂќ Bass said. He was saddled with inexperienced lawyers in a case immediately racialized by District Attorney вЂњCowboy BobвЂќ 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 JonesвЂ™ Case Attracted International AttentionДЄ confluence of factors contributed to the global interest in JonesвЂ™ 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, вЂњthere are so many Julius Joneses in the system вЂ¦ donвЂ™t have the spotlight or the visibilityвЂќ that JonesвЂ™ case received. Jones-Davis and Bass believe that, without the worldwide attention to JonesвЂ™ case, he likely would have been executed. вЂњFor me,вЂќ she said, вЂњI felt relief that we wouldnвЂ™t be watching Julius die that dayвЂќ but disappointment that the governor would deny an innocent man an opportunity to secure his freedom.

вЂњFor not to take their recommendation, not just once, but twice, вЂ¦ that was so disheartening.вЂќ Bass, who was with Jones helping him prepare his last message to his family and his supporters, had similarly mixed feelings. вЂњWe had fought so hard to bring the issues in JuliusвЂ™ case вЂ¦ to public awareness,вЂќ Jones-Davis said. Jones-Davis and Bass describe how Jones, his family, and his supporters felt when Governor Stitt spared JonesвЂ™ life but rejected the pardons boardвЂ™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 JonesвЂ™ 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 JonesвЂ™ 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.Д«ass 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.

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