Sigh. Soon after the “Justice for Julius” march arrived at the church across the street from the Department of Corrections unit where the Julius Jones clemency hearing was to take place, we got bad news.
The judge in the Rodney Reed case DECLINED to recommend a new trial for Rodney. This is devastating news because it means Rodney might never be able to have his evidence of innocence heard in court. It set us all on additional pins and needles for Julius’s clemency hearing.
Listening to the hearing with dozens of people, I was grateful for the camaraderie. The clemency board voted 3–1 IN FAVOR of clemency for Julius, and made a recommendation of a commutation to a life sentence WITH the possibility of parole. This was our hope, but Governor Stitt still has to accept or decline this recommendation.
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- Watch videos from the march and the hearing here.
- Sign & share the petition for Rodney Reed
- Sign & share the petition for Julius Jones
- Sign the petition for David Cox.
I want to share what happened just before I got on the plane to go home. I was sitting in the airport restaurant, writing this email. I was looking at a picture of Cece Jones-Davis to use in this message. Cece is the Julius Jones Campaign Director. Suddenly, there she is with Antoinette Jones, Julius’s sister. After “Hello,” the first things out of their mouths was, “what do we have to do about Rodney?”
The answer: KEEP FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE!
Most people don’t realize that it is constitutional to execute a person who may be innocent. The fact is that raising new evidence after a trial is over is practically impossible in this country. We are seeing that in the Rodney Reed case, in Texas, and in the Julius Jones case in Oklahoma, and many others. Not that I wish this on anyone, but I hope it is not too long before this injustice happens to a rich white man rather than poor black men. Perhaps then we will see some change. Until then, it’s on each of us to do everything possible to stop these injustices.
Thank YOU for being part of this Struggle,
— abe
Abraham J. Bonowitz, Director
PS: Please support this work — click here. (Or mail to PO Box 89, Ghent, NY 12075.)
