Oklahoma governor commutes Julius Jones' death sentence hours before execution
CBSN
Oklahoma's governor has spared the life of death row inmate Julius Jones just hours before his scheduled execution. Governor Kevin Stitt on Thursday commuted Jones' death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 1999, Jones was 19 years old when he was convicted for the murder of businessman Paul Howell, who was shot in the driveway of his parent's home. Witnesses told police they saw a Black man with a red bandanna and 1 to 2 inches of hair shoot Howell and steal his SUV.
Three days later, Jones was arrested for matching the suspect's description but his family claims his head was shaved and he was at home during the time of the shooting.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.