In 2018, I used to be a mom and teaching pastor newly relocated to Oklahoma. That’s once I heard of Julius Jones, who was then on death row following a 2002 conviction for murder.
I stumbled upon his story one night while watching The Last Defense, an ABC docuseries about people facing execution with strong innocence claims. To say I used to be devastated by the problems in his case can’t capture how much his story affected me. Here was a young, smart, Black man who appeared to have a lot going for him, suddenly caught within the grips of the criminal legal system and sentenced to death right in Oklahoma.
I didn’t know anything concerning the justice system on the time. All I knew was that God was calling me to do something about Julius Jones—to assist lead the trouble to stop his execution. I convinced several friends from my church and other leaders locally to hitch the cause.
For two years, we shared Julius’s story with fellow Oklahomans by showing the docuseries, holding panel discussions, and constructing social media platforms. Through strategic prayer and a every day grind of connecting with community leaders in addition to national influencers and organizations, the Justice for Julius campaign officially launched in 2020. The timing—around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic—wasn’t ideal but couldn’t be avoided: An execution date for Julius was to be announced at any moment.
When I describe the campaign to save lots of Julius’s life, I all the time discuss it as a human chain, like how strangers on a beach link arms to tug someone from a rip tide. People from every demographic—wealthy, poor, young, old, progressive, conservative, white, indigenous, Black, and more—got here together to stop his execution. We built an unlikely coalition during a time of immense political division because we believed that Julius Jones’s life matters.
Thousands of letters were sent and phone calls were made to the office of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. Millions signed a web based petition, and hundreds rallied across the country. And in spite of everything that work, we thought we had failed. With no response from the governor, I went to McAlester, Oklahoma, in November of 2021, where I’d been “invited” by the state to witness Julius’s execution.
Then, we got the decision: The governor had commuted Julius’s sentence from death to life in prison without possibility of parole.
Yes, we worked hard. But we didn’t work greater than we prayed. I feel Julius is alive today due to the ability of prayer, the doors God opened for us, the unlikely partners he allowed to return together, and a sincere and unified effort to guard the image of God—especially on death row. We prayed at 5 a.m. for 3 years and added a 7 p.m. national prayer call that ran for 18 months. We saw God intervene miraculously again and again. And we are able to testify: Prayer moves the hand that moves the world.
Image: Courtesy of Cece Jones
Cece Jones
We are humbled that death didn’t win in Oklahoma that day and grateful that the Jones family is in a position to visit Julius every week. But our work here is just not done. When you think within the grace, power, and authority of the Most High, you may’t rest with persistent injustice. It gnaws on the spirit.
If you or a loved one have ever experienced prison in America, you understand it’s a place of torment and despair that does nothing to heal, rehabilitate, or prepare its occupants to return to society well. It is actually not a spot for an innocent person like Julius Jones to be for the remainder of his life.
So the work must proceed. This second phase, too, should begin with sharing Julius’s story, here in his own words.
Julius’s Story
I get up every day considering of the terrible events that led as much as my wrongful incarceration. The same night that I could be accused of murder, I used to be standing in my parents’ kitchen telling my mom that my brother and sister had eaten all the remainder of my nineteenth birthday cookie. Little did I do know that a cookie would grow to be the least of my worries. Since then, the state of Oklahoma has taken over 24 years of my life. Every 12 months, on daily basis, and each moment of my existence keeps disappearing just like the crumbs of that cookie.
Image: Courtesy of Julius Jones
Julius Jones and his family.
A little bit over two years ago, I got here inside three hours of being murdered by the state for a person’s life that I didn’t take. Instead, I used to be blessed when the Most High moved tens of millions of individuals all all over the world to rise up to preserve my life. After witnessing my lack of a legal defense at trial, learning of the deals with multiple longtime confidential informants that were never disclosed to the court, in addition to the anomaly of DNA “evidence,” the Justice for Julius campaign fought hard for me because they believed in my innocence! Through the love I received from so many, the Most High jogged my memory that though I had forgotten myself, he had not forgotten me.
My life was spared, but my freedom was not restored. I’m still in prison for a criminal offense I didn’t commit. I wasn’t prepared for all times in prison. I believed I used to be going home, or else going home to God. Because of the love of my family and people who proceed to advocate for my freedom, I try my best to carry on to hope on daily basis, nevertheless it’s been hard. Sometimes it appears like it’s getting harder.
And since my execution was stopped, ten other people have been executed in Oklahoma, despite three of them having clemency recommendations just like mine from the pardon and parole board. How can we stand for this? Is the death penalty a machine that takes little interest in nuance or recent evidence? Just death? We must keep working toward a criminal justice system that is actually just.
Cece Jones-Davis works on the intersections of religion, art, and social justice as an award-winning faith leader, facilitator, and public speaker. She is thought most recently for her work in creating the Justice for Julius campaign.
Julius Jones survived Oklahoma’s death row for over 23 years until his commutation on November 18, 2021. He is the founding father of the Julius Jones Institute and creator of JuWels of Life and JuWels from Death Row.
