J. Cole is joining Kim Kardashian in the fight to spare the life of Oklahoma death row inmate Julius Jones.
Jones, 41, is scheduled to be executed on Thursday nearly 20 years after he was convicted for the fatal shooting of Paul Howell during a 1999 carjacking. Jones has maintained his innocence throughout, saying he was set up by the actual shooter. On Monday, the Oklahoma State Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for the death row inmate, whose fate will be decided by Governor Kevin Stitt.
Cole took to Twitter on Tuesday to bring awareness to Jones’ case, as he responded to a thread posted by Kardashian in which she laid out the controversial case by highlighting the “overwhelming” evidence to support his innocence.
“Read this please. Then share,” Cole wrote. “Oklahoma is a day away from executing a man. The evidence that this man is innocent is overwhelming. So much so that the state parole board recommended to the governor that he not be executed. with 1 day left of his life, the governor hasn’t acted.”
In a series of tweets, Kardashian pleaded with Stitt to grant Jones clemency.
“The state is so bent on vengeance that they will make every effort to ensure they get to kill Julius- including reviving him if he happens to go into cardiac arrest prior to the execution,” she wrote. “Julius, his family and everyone on his team are still hopeful Stitt will do the right thing. Today Julius’ family and close friends received invites to his execution. I can’t even imagine how they all must be feeling right now.”
When asked by a Twitter follower if there is a petition people can sign to lend their support to Jones, Cole replied, “Thanks 4 asking. I’m doing this today,” while sharing a phone number to Gov. Stitt’s office.
