Kim Kardashian is sharing emotional details from her communications with Julius Jones as she celebrates Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s decision Thursday to commute the 41-year-old inmate’s death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians alum has been involved with the prison reform movement for years now, advocating for Jones’ sentence to be commuted following his conviction in the 1999 killing of Paul Howell.ย
Jones has maintained his innocence for more than two decades, even sharing a message with Kardashian the day before his execution was to be carried out. The KKW Beauty founder revealed she spent “most of [her] day on the phone” with Jones Wednesday in a series of tweets following her initial praise of Stitt for preventing Jones’ execution.
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“I spent most of my day on the phone with Julius yesterday in between his lawyer meetings and family visitation which still are not contact visits,” she wrote. “Meaning he cannot still hug his family members before being executed. He hasn’t in over 20 years.” Kardashian continued that she was on the phone with Jones when someone came in to give him the anti-anxiety medication “that you usually are forced to take before you are executed so that you can be more calm about the fact that you are about to be executed.”
“However Julius refused because he said he has a clear conscience and that gives him peace knowing he is innocent and did not want to be drugged up,” she continued. Jones also asked Kardashian to pass along an “important” message to her followers. “The most important is that you have to always make sure you are doing the right thing,” she wrote. “Julius was hanging out with the wrong crowd and that landed him in the position he’s in today.”
“He said if you are doing something your mom wouldn’t approve of then you shouldn’t be doing it. It’s that simple!” the SKIMS founder added. “I’m so grateful to everyone who used their voice and helped to save Julius’s life today. Thank you to the parole board and Governor Stitt.”
Jones’ original execution date came amid protests and a last-minute appeal in court that argued Oklahoma’s execution process amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.” Stitt announced just hours before Jones was scheduled to be killed, “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.”
