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Meet Julius Jones!
By Izzy Casey — Written on Nov 25, 2020
Kim Kardashian has been a consistent advocate for criminal justice reform.
This week she met with Julius Jones, a Black man who is currently incarcerated and on death row.
Kardashian promised to provide him with legal help.
On Monday, a source confirmed that Kardashian visited him in Oklahoma City.
Kardashian is “assisting [Jones's] legal team — since she’s studying to become a lawyer through her apprenticeship in [California] — and then met with his family.”
Who is Julius Jones?
In 2002, Julius Jones, a Black man, was 19 years old when he was wrongfully accused of the murder of a white man, Paul Howell, who was shot in the driveway of his parent's home.
Jones was sentenced to death and convicted of murder.
The Justice For Julius website, which Kardashian has promoted on her Twitter account, states “Julius Jones is on death row in Oklahoma, despite maintaining his innocence and compelling evidence.”
For the past 20 years, Jones has been on death row and is held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.
He is permitted one hour of sunlight a day and three showers a week.
Kim Kardashian has decided to get involved in Julius Jones's case.
After Jones filed a clemency petition with the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, Kardashian urged clemency for him in 2019.
She even met with Jones’s attorney, Dale Baich, and his family.
Who is Julius Jonses's mother, Madeline Davis Jones?
Julius Jones' mother, Madeline Davis Jones, maintains his innocence, citing an alibi and racial discrimination.
On the night of Howell's murder, Julius Jones was at home with her eating a spaghetti dinner.
"Jones’ mom reportedly got emotional during the meeting as she recounted the night of Howell’s murder," a source confirmed, "saying that Julius was with her at home the whole time."
"We often hear that Julius’ death sentence is about 'justice' or 'closure.' This cannot be true, however, because we know Mr. Howell’s real killer is still out there," Madeline Davis Jones said. "Nothing is 'just' about executing our boy, who spent one of his last nights as a free man with his family playing board games. His death will not provide closure or healing. Only the truth can do that."
Actress Viola Davis produced a documentary about Julius Jones.
The Last Defense, produced by Viola Davis, is an American documentary series that reveals the disastrous flaws in the American justice system.
Season one examines the cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones, who are currently on death row.
Kim Kardashian has publicly stated what others can do to help Julius Jones and his family.
“I notice lots of people asking what they can do to help in the Julius Jones case." Kardashian tweeted, "You can send letters to the Pardon & Parole Board, and the Governor.”
Kim Kardashian even tweeted at Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt to “give careful and thoughtful consideration to the petition” of Julius Jones.
"There is an amzing documentary that @violadavis did that featured the Julius Jones’ case called The Last Defense. I believe in his innocence, let’s correct his wrongful conviction @GovStitt," she said.
Izzy Casey is a writer and editor based in NYC who covers news & entertainment for YourTango. Her work has been published in or is forthcoming from Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts, Black Warrior Review, Bennington Review, BOAAT, Prelude, NY Tyrant, The Iowa Review, and elsewhere. She received her MFA in Poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was the recipient of a fellowship with the Poetry Foundation.