Oklahama’s Pardon and Parole Board has recommended clemency for Julius Jones, an African American man sentenced to die for a 1999 murder he says he did not commit. Calls are mounting for Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to halt Jones’s execution, scheduled for November 18.
Meanwhile, a Texas judge has denied a request to grant a new murder trial to Rodney Reed, an African American prisoner sentenced to death by an all-white jury in 1998 for a crime he’s always denied committing. Lawyers say there’s compelling evidence that another man may be responsible for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman. You can see our coverage of both death penalty cases, of Julius Jones and Rodney Reed, at democracynow.org.