Kim Kardashian calls for release of Julius Jones after death row visit: 'We won't stop until we get justice'
Kim Kardashian shared photos from her trip to Oklahoma last week to meet with Julius Jones, who’s on death row.
The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star, who has been focused on prison reform while studying to become a lawyer, called for “Justice for Julius,” explaining the man — who was convicted of the carjacking murder of a white father of two named Paul Howell in 1999 — has “been incarcerated for over 21 years for a crime he did not commit.” Jones’s story has featured in Viola Davis's docu-series The Last Defense.
Kardashian shared photos taken with Jones’s family at a church, sharing her experience speaking with them. His mother, Madeline Jones, talked about how she hasn’t hugged him since he was 19. Kardashian said Jones himself, who she also met with that day, “broke down in tears” while speaking about his sister Antoinette Jones, who he promised to take to the prom and then was unable to do to the conviction.
“We need to get him out and plan the best prom ever!!!” wrote Kardashian. “I’m so thankful for the most supportive freedom fighters for Julius Jones. We won’t stop until we get justice.”
Kardashian was among a group meeting with Jones Oklahoma City on Nov. 23. TMZ, which obtained a photo of Kardashian with Jones and his attorney Dale Baich, reported that she promised to do whatever she could to assist his legal team.
Last year, she shared asked her millions of social media followers to support Jones’s clemency bid.
Yesterday Oklahoma death-row prisoner #JuliusJones asked the Pardon & Parole Board for clemency. Please help by asking the Board and @GovStitt to give careful and thoughtful consideration to his petition. @justice4julius Learn more at https://t.co/Q5IzUCghZu
— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) October 16, 2019
The outlet said Jones’s mother became emotional at the church meeting recounting to Kardashian the night of Howell’s murder in Edmond, Okla., saying her son was home with at the time.
According to TMZ, Kardashian became interested in Jones’s case after watching 2018’s The Last Defense, which looked at his arrest and trial. Critics say Jones, who earned an academic scholarship to Oklahoma University before his conviction, faced racial discrimination at the time of his arrest, didn’t get a fair trial and didn’t have adequate legal representation. Jones, who claims he was framed, has exhausted his appeals and is hoping his bid for clemency is granted. He does not yet have a scheduled execution date.
Other celebrities, including sports stars, have called for Jones’s release. However, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said that “every criticism surrounding his case has been disproven.” And “celebrity endorsements and biased documentaries cannot erase the facts of the case that overwhelmingly prove Julius Jones killed Paul Howell in cold blood... Jones had his day in court and has exhausted his appeals at every level. He committed this horrific crime and now must serve the sentence a jury of his peers deemed appropriate. I encourage those advocating for Jones, including Mrs. Kardashian West, to research the case.”
Kardashian, whose late dad Robert Kardashian was on O.J. Simpson’s legal “dream team,” decided in 2018 to study law, taking a legal apprenticeship with a San Francisco law firm. The reality star is working to take the California State Bar Exam in 2022.
As part of her studies, she’s focused on prison reform, most notably campaigning for the release of Alice Marie Johnson, who was freed after serving 20-years on a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense after President Trump commuted her sentence. Kardashian later tapped Johnson, 65, to model for her SKIMS line.
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