Who was Paul Howell?
PAUL Howell was murdered outside his parents' home in front of his family on July 28, 1999.
Then 19-year-old Julius Jones was arrested for his murder and sentenced to death in 2002, and ultimately his sentence was commuted just hours before his death on November 18, 2021.
Who was Paul Howell?
Howell was an Oklahoma City businessman who was brutally murdered in front of his kids on July 28,1999.
He was just 45 at the time of his death and was dating Connie Ellison.
According to , Howell was returning from a shopping trip with his sister Megan and daughters Rachel, nine, and seven-year-old Abby, when he was shot in the drive to his parents home.
Howell's sister described the shooter as "a black man wearing a stocking cap" with "half an inch of hair hanging out," his attorney Dale Baich told in December 2019.
Three suspects interviewed by Edmonton Police pinned Jones and a high school basketball teammate, Christopher Jordan, as the alleged carjacking murderers.
Despite a lack of evidence to directly connect Jones to Howell's killing, he was sentenced to death and 40 years in prison in 2002.
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Jordan was the state's key witness against him, and advocates for Jones say his case has been tainted by racial discrimination.
"We have serious concerns by the way the evidence was collected, handled, and stored," Baich said, claiming that Jones was targeted by "self-proclaimed car thugs and a gang member".
Despite an agreement that Jordan would serve 30 years in exchange for his testimony, he walked free after serving half of that time, according to an overview of his case on .
Did Julius Jones murder Paul Howell?
Jones was convicted in 2002 but claims he is innocent.
Jones was a 19-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma when he was considered as the prime suspect in the killing of 45-year-old businessman Howell.
He was on the verge of gaining a basketball scholarship when he was arrested and charged with Howell's murder in August 1999, according to .
The black inmate has spent more than 20 years proclaiming his innocence, and a petition, which has garnered over 6million signatures, claims he spends 23 hours a day in solitary confinement as he awaits his fate.
On October 27, 2021, Jones was granted a stay of execution.
However, the state attorney general’s office released a statement saying that it plans to appeal the decision to the US Supreme Court.
The statement read: "We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will vacate the stay so that justice can finally be served for the people of Oklahoma, including the families of the victims of these horrific crimes."
Yet, on October 28, after Supreme Court review, it was announced that a request to vacate the stays of execution for Jones was granted.
He was set to be executed on November 18, but his executed was commuted by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt hours before the scheduled event.
“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 statement.
However, Jones will not be permitted to apply for, or be considered for, a commutation, pardon, or parole for the rest of his life.
The petition fighting for his release from prison insists he is innocent despite his sentencing.
It states: "Every minute we wait to take action, Julius is suffering.
"Every second that goes by brings Julius closer to being executed for a crime he didn’t commit."
He filed for clemency in October 2019 after exhausting all of his options to fight the death penalty.
OU Daily reports his clemency report says: "As God is my witness, I was not involved in any way in the crimes that led to Paul Howell being shot and killed.
"I have spent the past 20 years on death row for a crime I did not commit, did not witness, and was not at."
What did Paul Howell's daughter say on Julius Jones' execution?
Rachel Howell was nine when her father was killed and was with him when it happened.
She has spoken out against Julius' claims and claimed there was "a lot of misinformation around the case".
, Howell said: "Julius Jones and his family and their supporters claim that he did not get the opportunity to testify in court.
"That is completely false. You can find it in the transcripts, if you do the research.
"They asked him multiple times if he is waiving his right to testify, and he's agreed, he did not want to testify."
Speaking about her dad, she said: "He was an innocent man, taking his kids to get ice cream with my aunt.
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"He was murdered in front of me and my sister and my aunt. Understand that we are the victims here.
"We have done nothing wrong, and it almost feels like we are doing something wrong by speaking out."