Regarding the method of execution used by the state, one board member said that the “process is obviously flawed.”
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday discussed issues it has with the method planned to be used for Julius Jones’ execution, including if the protocol is humane. The questions arose when the board had gathered to recommend clemency for inmate Bigler Stouffer. The board expressed concerns about the three-drug cocktail that would have been used for Stouffer, which is also the method planned for Jones’ scheduled execution at 4 p.m. local time Thursday. The Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-1 on November 1 to commute Jones’ sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole, but Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has yet to grant clemency for Jones. “That process is obviously flawed,” said board member Larry Morris, according to local NBC affiliate station KFOR-TV. Jones has been on death row for almost 20 years in connection with the 1999 murder of Paul Howell. Jones has maintained he is innocent, as do many of his supporters. The ABC documentary series The Last Defense covered Jones’ case in 2018, and his cause has garnered more publicity in the years since.
