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Report: Stitt Finally Does The Right Thing

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?

According to this Tik Tok, even his own daughter wanted him to commute the sentence! I'm sure those pleas are way more powerful than a reality star or athlete.

For what it's worth, here's what Governor Stitt has to say about the decision:

“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.”

Article 6, Section 10 of the Oklahoma Constitution gives the Governor power to grant commutations “upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as the Governor may deem proper.”

Pursuant to that provision, the Governor has ordered that Jones shall not be eligible to apply for or be considered for a commutation, pardon, or parole for the remainder of his life.

As I've mentioned on this site over the past year or so, I'm not 100% convinced of Jones's innocence. You have to admit, there is some damaging circumstantial evidence that associates him with the crime, but there are also enough issues with his criminal defense and conviction – and problems with our state's criminal justice system and execution protocols – to let me know he shouldn't be executed.

On that note, I'm now going to write something that I can't believe I actually get to write...

Thank you, Governor Stitt, for doing the right thing, and saving Julius's life. 

That being said, don't get too comfortable. We depend on your repeated gaffes, mistakes, and poor decisions to generate digestible internet content for our readers. Don't suddenly become a good governor or anything like that!

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