NBA stars Trae Young, Russell Westbrook and Blake Griffin wrote to Gov. Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma's Pardon & Parole Board, urging them to commute the sentence of Julius Jones, an Oklahoma inmate on death row. The news was first reported by nondoc.com.
Jones was convicted of murder in the first degree and sentenced to death in 2002 for the killing of Edmond businessman Paul Howell in 1999. He has claimed innocence for 20 years and applied for clemency in October 2019 to the Pardon & Parole board.
The case recently became more prominent in the public discourse after Black Lives Matter Oklahoma City released a list of demands to Gov.