Julius Jones and David Cox

November 23rd, 2021

Many emotions raced across the country when news broke that Julius Jones had been commuted. Relief that he had not been executed, rage that the governor of Oklahoma had ordered Jones never to be released, and many shades in between. There were zoom sessions about healing and grief and non-violence; but what if none of those feelings quite captured how I felt? What if I was offended by the commutation – where did I go for that?

Before we get to my feelings, though, let’s make sure the record is clear. Julius Jones should never have been on death row in the first place – the virtually all-white jury, the alleged racism of a juror, and the significant questions about guilt were more than sufficient to make even believers in capital punishment question the appropriateness of a death sentence. Indeed, the idea that Oklahoma was even contemplating an execution after the botched execution of John Grant only weeks earlier might have been shocking to many, but not to those aware of the state’s history of horrifying disasters in the death chamber. Six years earlier the state had tried for 33 minutes to kill Clayton Lockett, until the execution had been called off by the former governor, who had been attending an Oklahoma Thunder basketball game at the time. That was, and is, how seriously Oklahoma takes capital punishment.

Many A-list celebrities, marshaled by Mr. Jones’s own family, spoke up for him, and rallied far more support than others with similar claims of innocence. Kim Kardashian warned of a possible “tragic miscarriage of justice,” and Kerry Washington advocated to her many followers: "Take action. Now is the time. #FreeJuliusJones." Athletes like Stephen Curry and his coach, Steve Kerr, called on people to vocalize their opposition to the execution: “Do it for Julius,” he begged. Baker Mayfield, a former Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Oklahoma and now the quarterback of the Cleveland Browns, called for God’s intervention to spare Mr. Jones, and then tweeted #GodIsGreat when his apparent prayers were answered. Indeed, the governor of Oklahoma had been said to be deep in prayer before partially following the vote of his Board of Pardons and Parole: while the Board recommended commutation with the possibility of parole, the governor decided against any future parole. Hence the anger felt by many at the bittersweet victory.

The day before Julius Jones was to be executed, Mississippi executed David Cox. You never heard of David Cox? He pled guilty to killing his wife, and had long wanted to be executed, telling his lawyers that the awful conditions on death row at Parchman had made his choice to be executed by the state much easier. His comments did not prompt a viral social media campaign to improve prison conditions in Mississippi, however.

Per the Clarion Ledger, vigils and protests around the state were planned ahead of the scheduled execution - one was being held outside the prison gates, and another had been expected at the state Capitol, “but no one was there. A couple protesters stood outside the governor's mansion.” A vigil at the University Baptist Church in Hattiesburg announced that its members would be praying not only for Cox, but for putting an end to the death penalty. "[The night of Mr. Cox’s execution] is going to be a tough night at the church for everybody," said its pastor. "We pray they will stop choosing violence."

Before the execution of Mr. Cox and Mr. Grant, this fall saw the execution of Willie B. Smith III in Alabama, Ernest Johnson in Missouri, and Rick Rhoades in Texas. You never heard of them either.

So, back to the beginning, when I was saying that I was offended. Why? Obviously not because of the fact of the Julius Jones commutation, a clearly merited decision even in a rabidly pro-death penalty state. And not because people, including celebrities, spoke up on his behalf. Rather, it’s the gnawing feeling that the justice was done because famous people spoke up; or, to be even more specific, that justice was done only when famous people spoke up and injustice was done when they didn’t. Such results promote an appropriate distrust of the criminal justice system and a sense of illegitimacy in our system of capital punishment; and of course they encourage vigilance. But it is deeply offensive to think that fairness can be achieved only when social media personalities demand it.