Kim Kardashian‘s efforts to halt the execution of Julius Jones, a 41-year-old man who was convicted and sentenced to death in Oklahoma for a 1999 murder that he’s denied committing, have paid off. Governor Kevin Stitt announced on Thursday (Nov. 18) that he was commuting Julius’ death sentence to life in prison without parole following “prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case.” Kim, 41, was obviously overjoyed by this news, considering she’s been fighting to save Julius from death row. She released a statement on Twitter celebrating the major legal decision.
“Thank you so much Governor Stitt for commuting Julius Jones sentence to life without parole and stopping his execution today,” Kim said. “I spent most of my day on the phone with Julius yesterday in between his lawyer meetings and family visitation which still are not contact visits. Meaning he cannot still hug his family members before being executed. He hasn’t in over 20 years.” Kim went on to share that Julius was offered anti-anxiety meds before his planned execution, but he refused to take them “because he said he has a clear conscience and that gives him peace knowing he is innocent and did not want to be drugged up.”
However Julius refused because he said he has a clear conscience and that gives him peace knowing he is innocent and did not want to be drugged up.
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) November 18, 2021
Kim added, “He also wanted me to pass a few messages along that were really important to him. The most important is that you have to always make sure you are doing the right thing. Julius was hanging out with the wrong crowd and that landed him in the position he’s in today. He said if you are doing something your mom wouldn’t approve of then you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s that simple!” The studying lawyer said she was “so grateful to everyone who used their voice and helped to save Julius’s life today. Thank you to the parole board and Governor Stitt.”
I’m so grateful to everyone who used their voice and helped to save Julius’s life today.
Thank you to the parole board and Governor Stitt. 🙏🏼❤️
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) November 18, 2021
Kim first mentioned Julius’ case and the petition for his release on Twitter in 2019. A year later, in Nov. 2020, she visited Julius at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and took to Instagram to share photos of the visit. She brought nationwide attention to Julius’ case in March, and in the past few weeks, she’s made it her mission to try and halt Julius’ execution, calling it a “tragic miscarriage of justice.”
Kim, like many others, has believed Julius’ claims that he was innocent in the 1999 killing of businessman Paul Howell. Julius was a 19-year-old college student at the time when he became the prime suspect. He was arrested in Aug. 1999 and later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 2002, despite a reported lack of evidence to directly connect Julius to the killing. He filed for clemency in Oct. 2019, and in the report said, “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.”