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Julius Jones, an American death row inmate spared in extremis in the United States: after millions of people were mobilized in his favor, the governor of Oklahoma, Kevin Stitt, suspended his execution for a murder of which he always said he was innocent.
With our correspondent in the United States, David thomson
The governor of Oklahoma thought until the end, to finally suspend this execution just four hours before the fatal injection. ” After praying, reviewing documents from all parties, writes Kevin Stitt on Twitter, I have decided to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of release. »
After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’ sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.https://t.co/fLsnYnxInw
— Governor Kevin Stitt (@GovStitt) November 18, 2021
This Republican governor was under intense pressure after several years of mobilization in favor of this prisoner on death row for more than 20 years. On the Internet, a petition denouncing a racist conviction brings together more than 6 million signatures demanding the cancellation of the execution of this 41-year-old black American convicted of the murder he has always denied of a businessman in 1999.
The flaws in this file were the subject of a documentary on the ABC channel, which rocked opinion. Several stars like Kim Kardashian, actors, athletes, and even the ambassador of the European Union to the United States, had asked the governor to intervene.
Oklahoma resumed executions in late October, after a six-year hiatus. The state is using a controversial deadly cocktail, accused of causing slow and painful agony in several convicts.
► Read also: The strategies of French NGOs to end the death penalty
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