Oklahoma governor commutes death sentence of Julius Jones hours before execution

• Oklahoma's governor stopped Julius Jones' execution hours before it was scheduled on Thursday.
• The governor commuted Jones' sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted Julius Jones' death sentence on Thursday, hours before the inmate was scheduled to be executed.

Stitt commuted Jones' sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

"After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones' sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole," Stitt said in a statement on the governor's website.

Jones had been on death row since 2002, when he was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1999 killing of Paul Howell in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Jones has maintained his innocence in the case and said at a November 1 pardon and parole board hearing that he "wasn't involved in it in any way," according to KOCO.

"Governor Stitt took an important step today towards restoring public faith in the criminal justice system by ensuring that Oklahoma does not execute an innocent man," Jones' attorney, Amanda Bass, said in a statement shared with Insider.

"While we had hoped the Governor would adopt the Board's recommendation in full by commuting Julius's sentence to life with the possibility of parole in light of the overwhelming evidence of Julius's innocence, we are grateful that the Governor has prevented an irreparable mistake," Bass added.

The pardon and parole board had recommended Stitt commute Jones' sentence after the November 1 hearing, but Stitt waited more than two weeks — until the day of Jones' execution — to do so.

Celebrities including Kim Kardashian West, NBA players Russell Westbrook and Trae Young, and Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield had urged Stitt to commute the sentence, and activists held rallies calling for Jones' freedom.