1,039 days after he was inaugurated, Kevin Stitt has finally made a correct decision as Governor!
Earlier today, he defied his hardcore stick-it-to-the-libs political dogma, and in a rare move that showed compassion, logic, and went against the death wishes of his Derplahoman voter base, announced he is commuting Julius Jones's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Here are the details via a press release:
Pursuant to Article 6, Section 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution, Governor Kevin Stitt today issued Executive Order 2021-25 to commute the death sentence of Julius Jones, who was tried and convicted for the first-degree murder of Paul Howell, to life imprisonment without the possibility for parole, on the condition that he shall never again be eligible to apply for, be considered for, or receive any additional commutation, pardon, or parole.
Like most people, I'm both relieved and shocked by this news. I figured if Stitt was going to commute the sentence, he would have made the call weeks or months ago, and not waited until just hours before the state was going to botch Jones's execution to announce clemency.
It makes me wonder – was this decision planned or semi-spontaneous? Did pressure from just about everyone in the world push him to make the right call?