Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt Commutes Death Sentence of Julius Jones, Convicted in 1999 Killing

Mr. Jones was a 19-year-old student at the University of Oklahoma when he was arrested and prosecuted in the 1999 death of Paul Howell, who was fatally shot during a carjacking. Mr. Jones, now 41 years, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002 and sentenced to death. His co-defendant, Christopher Jordan, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Mr. Jordan testified against Mr. Jones at the trial.

Mr. Jones, who has been incarcerated for nearly 20 years, has long maintained his innocence.

Lawyers for Mr. Jones presented information to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, including that no evidence was offered at the trial about Mr. Jones’ alibi and that he didn’t match the shooter’s description. Lawyers also said the jury didn’t hear from several people who stated that Mr. Jordan admitted to committing the murder and framing Mr. Jones, said Amanda Bass, an attorney for Mr. Jones, during an interview on CBS last week.

“Governor Stitt took an important step today towards restoring public faith in the criminal justice system by ensuring that OK does not execute an innocent man,” Ms. Bass said Thursday.

Lawyers for Mr. Jones, who is Black, also argued to the board that racial bias played a role in the outcome of the case. One juror used a racial epithet while suggesting that the trial was a waste of time and that Mr. Jones should be taken behind the courthouse and shot, Ms. Bass said.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended commuting Mr. Jones’ death sentence to life with the possibility of parole, leaving the ultimate decision in the hands of the governor.

The case drew national attention with celebrities and athletes calling Mr. Jones’s incarceration a miscarriage of justice. Hundreds of students protested outside Mr. Stitts office this week, and more than 6.5 million people signed an online petition asking him to stop the execution.

The governor didn’t follow the board’s full recommendation for life with the possibility of parole.

Earlier Thursday, attorneys filed an emergency motion in federal court for an injunction to stay Mr. Jones and three other inmates’ executions, citing new evidence that the drug used in the lethal injection poses “a serious and substantial risk of severe suffering and pain to prisoners”; last month, an Oklahoma prisoner vomited and shook during his execution.

Write to Deanna Paul at deanna.paul@wsj.com