Julius Jones: Oklahoma: (Part Two): Bulletin: Hearing on his commutation request to be held today. (March 8, 2021). The Oklahoman (Reporter Nolan Clay) reports that this is just the first step... "If approved by the board, he will get a fuller review of his request at a later meeting. Gov. Kevin Stitt will make the final decision if the board votes in his favor the second time. He cannot apply again for three years if the board rejects his request." A wrinkle: The Oklahoman also reports that, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater is asking a member of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board not to vote Monday on death row inmate Julius Jones' commutation request. "You have publicly demonstrated your personal bias in regards to this case," the prosecutor told Adam Luck in a letter Thursday. Luck in October 2019 retweeted a request by celebrity Kim Kardashian to "please help" Jones by asking the Pardon and Parole Board to give careful and thoughtful consideration to his request for clemency. Kardashian is one of Jones' most visible supporters and visited him in November at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Jones, 40, is facing execution for the 1999 fatal shooting of the Edmond insurance executive during a carjacking. Jurors chose the death penalty as punishment at a 2002 trial."

The entire story can be read at:

https://oklahoman.com/article/5683542/this-parole-board-member-retweeted-kim-kardashian-now-da-says-he-shouldnt-vote-on-death-row-inmate-julius-jones

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

-----------------------------------------------------------------

FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

—————————————————————————————————

FINAL, FINAL WORD (FOR NOW!): "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------