Plain Old Justice

JONES TO SERVE LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE

By K. W. Locke

When Thursday morning dawned, Julius Jones had an appointment with death. He would meet it at 4:00 that afternoon in the execution room of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Jones consistently has denied committing the murder for which he was sentenced to die. The Innocence Project took up his case and Kim Kardashian ralied public support. The family of the murder victim believes Jones is guilty.

Both sides presented their arguments at a September 13, 2021 meeting of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. which then recommended that Governor Kevin Stitt commute Jones' sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole. However, Stitt was not satisfied and asked for another hearing, specifically focused on clemency.

On November 1, 2021 the parole board conducted the clemency hearing and again recommended that the governor commute Jones' sentence. But the governor took no action. The silence seemed ominous. 

On November 17, the day before the scheduled execution, Jones' mother went to the governor's office, but he refused to see her.  That refusal seemed even more ominous.

Just 4 hours before Jones' appointment with death the governor canceled it. But although the parole board twice had recommended that Jones' sentence be commuted to life with the possibility of parole, the governor only gave him life without parole. Still, Jones is alive.

In 1988, a Memphis jury found Pervis Payne guilty of murdering a 28-year-old woman and her 2-year-old daughter. It sentenced him to death. Payne has maintained that he was innocent and many believe him.

Defense attorneys say that police investigators focused on Payne and ignored the person they believe committed the crime, the victim's ex-husband, who had a history of violence. They also argue that racial bias and Payne's low IQ tilted the scales against him.

Both Tennessee and federal courts have held that it is unconstitutional to execute a mentally disabled person, but up until now, prosecutors have not conceded that Payne met that standard. A new Tennessee law gave Payne a new opportunity to raise the mental disability issue.

Recently, a state expert who reviewed Payne's records "could not say Payne's intellectual functioning is outside the range for intellectual disability." In the absence of a clearcut pronouncement that Payne absolutely, unequivocally met the standard, many prosecutors would have argued that Payne should be executed. But not District Attorney General Amy Weirich. She decided that Payne should be taken off death row and will concede in court that Payne should not be executed.

Payne's lawyer said that the district attorney general's concession will "avoid years of needless litigation." 

Of course, taxpayers would foot the bill for the litigation. The district attorney general deserves a double round of thanks: First, for having the courage to do justice and second, for saving tax dollars.

Although Payne is off death row he is still in prison, serving two life sentences.  Payne's lawyer said efforts will continue to prove that his client did not commit the crime.