Well, at least five of them don’t, but that’s a start.
In Oklahoma’s long history of incarcerating and executing minorities, very few cases have ever reached the fever pitch as halting the imminent execution of Julius Jones. The verdict has brought to light the inherent evils of the American justice system and their absolute prejudices against non-whites, especially in Oklahoma.
But, yesterday as Stitt sat in his multimillion-dollar house double-checking his trusty Bible for the facts about God’s ideas regarding justice—I thought one was “Thou shalt not kill…” but I could be wrong—five Republican lawmakers vocally went against their party’s beliefs, asking the Oklahoma governor to grant Jones clemency.
These five brave Representatives are Garry Mize and Preston Stinson—representing Edmond, where Jones allegedly committed the murder—as well as Rep. Logan Phillips, Rep. John Talley and even Rep. Kevin McDugle, a man of stand-up character that we've written about multiple times on this site.
From the Tulsa World:
“The last thing the state should be doing is taking the life of someone who may be innocent,” Mize said in a news release issued by a public relations firm working for Jones' supporters. “There is too much doubt here, especially given that Julius Jones’ codefendant has confessed to being the real murderer. We can’t move forward with an execution under these circumstances in good conscience. I hope and pray Gov. Stitt accepts the recommendation of his Parole Board.”
When even five Oklahoma Republicans can see that there is a grave injustice going on here, how can Stitt not at least commute Jones' sentence? We know pandering to a blood-hungry base without a second thought as to what you’re doing is a fun perk of being a Conservative Oklahoma Governor, but have some decency here.
“If we believe, as conservatives, in law and order and the criminal justice system, then we have to make sure the system is getting it right,” Talley said in the news release. “In this case, the Pardon and Parole Board spent several hours looking at the case, during two separate hearings, and determined that it may not have. We should not execute a man in that context.”
This is absolutely true. And, if Stitt allows Jones to be murdered by the state next Thursday, the blood will be on his hands and, I promise you, it will never wipe off.
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