Julius Jones' family begs for clemency as controversial execution nears: "This is a state of emergency"
CBSN
Julius Jones' family and supporters are begging the governor of Oklahoma to stop his execution, which is set for Thursday, amid questions about his conviction for a 1999 murder that he insists he did not commit.
Jones will be put to death at 4 p.m. CT, unless Gov. Kevin Stitt grants him a clemency application that was recently endorsed by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Jones was sentenced to death almost 20 years ago for the murder of Paul Howell, whose family believes he's responsible and deserves to die.
But the 41-year-old inmate, who was 19 at the time of the killing, has always maintained his innocence and says he was home when Howell was murdered.
Authorities made two gruesome discoveries Tuesday after a Missouri woman walked into a police station and told officers that she fatally shot one of her children and drowned the other, officials said. Jefferson County Sheriff Dave Marshak said at a news conference that authorities believe both children were killed Tuesday morning.
Strong storms with damaging winds and baseball-sized hail pummeled Texas on Tuesday, leaving more than one million businesses and homes without power as much of the U.S. recovered from severe weather, including tornadoes, that killed at least 24 people in seven states during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.