A recent poll shows that a majority of Oklahomans believe that Governor Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board should commute the sentence of Julius Jones, an Oklahoman on death row for a murder he says he is innocent of.

The poll was conducted by the Oklahoma public affairs firm Amber Integrated from June 24-June 28, 2021. It included a pool of 500 registered voters in Oklahoma and has a margin of error of 4.38% at a 95% confidence interval.

Julius Jones was arrested and convicted of the 1999 murder of Paul Howell, an Edmond businessman who was shot and killed during a carjacking. Jones, who was 19 at the time of the shooting, has maintained his innocence and says he was nowhere near the scene of the crime. Multiple people have signed sworn affidavits saying that Jones’ codefendant Chris Jordan has repeatedly confessed to the murder.

The poll found that 50% of Republicans, 73% of Democrats and 65% of independents support commuting Jones’ sentence to “something other than death.” Just twenty-nine percent of Republicans, 20% of Democrats and 12% of independents favor moving forward with his execution.

While Black voters overwhelmingly support commutation, at 72%, a solid majority (57%) of white voters also support commuting Jones’ sentence.

Support for Jones comes despite an aggressive pro-execution campaign waged by both former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, who has resisted calls to turn over his office’s case files.

Rev. Cece Jones-Davis, a faith leader and an activist with the Justice for Julius Campaign, said the polling results show a growing awareness that the evidence in Jones’ case points to his innocence.

“Oklahomans of all political ideologies, all races and all ages don’t support killing someone who is innocent,” said Jones-Davis. “It’s as simple as that.”

Over 6 million people have signed the petition to commute Julius Jones’ sentence on Change.org.

On September 13, Jones will have a “Phase Two” commutation hearing in front of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. He is the first person on death row in Oklahoma to receive such a hearing.