Monday, July 12, 2021

Julius Jones; Oklahoma: Significant Development? His 'second' Pardon and Parole Board Hearing hearing will be held under new rules aimed at providing an 'enhanced' review..."In a statement, Jones’ attorney, Dale Baich said they look forward to presenting the case for Jones’ innocence. "The evidence, which was not presented at trial, includes photographic evidence that Julius did not match the eyewitness description of the killer and sworn affidavits as well as video testimony that the real killer has openly and brazenly confessed his guilt on multiple occasions to multiple people," Baich said."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: ""So, that will be 30 minutes for the victims and representatives, 30 minutes for the district attorney's office, and then 30 minutes for the individual and their representation as well," Luck said.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Good Lord. Such generosity!  If that's 'enhanced,' one has to wonder what chance anybody had to fully make their case in Oklahoma  before this new regime  was put in place.

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

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STORY: "Pardon and Parole Board votes to hold Julius Jones second hearing under new rules," by Reporter Matt Trotter, published by Public Radio (All Things Considered) on July 12, 2021.  

GIST: "Death-row inmate Julius Jones’ stage two commutation hearing will take place under new rules to give the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board additional time to consider his case.

The board voted Monday to make Jones’ stage-two hearing an "enhanced" review. Jones’ delegates, the district attorney’s office and victims’ representatives will get 30 minutes each. When they voted in March to advance Jones’ application, enhanced review didn’t exist.

"In the future, at stage one, we would have a vote as to whether or not an individual would move into an enhanced stage two hearing. This administrative rule was not in place when we voted for advancing this case to stage two," Pardon and Parole Board Chair Adam Luck said.

A June hearing in Jones’ case was delayed as the board came up with the enhanced review process. Luck said all parties were consulted about how much time they would like to present in September.

"So, that will be 30 minutes for the victims and representatives, 30 minutes for the district attorney's office, and then 30 minutes for the individual and their representation as well," Luck said.

In a statement, Jones’ attorney, Dale Baich said they look forward to presenting the case for Jones’ innocence.

"The evidence, which was not presented at trial, includes photographic evidence that Julius did not match the eyewitness description of the killer and sworn affidavits as well as video testimony that the real killer has openly and brazenly confessed his guilt on multiple occasions to multiple people," Baich said.

Jones was convicted of the murder of Edmond businessman Paul Howell but has maintained his innocence. Jones' legal team has argued his defense was poor and the trial was tainted by racism, and celebrity advocates have taken notice of his case."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/pardon-and-parole-board-votes-hold-julius-jones-second-hearing-under-new-rules#stream/0

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;

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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;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "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;