The overwhelming evidence in this case supports the courts’ decision/conviction that Julius Jones murdered Paul Howell on July 28th, 1999.
The Howell Family Speaks Out
The Howell Family Speaks Out for the First Time
Paul Howell's daughter speaks out against misinformation surrounding father's murder, Julius Jones
Members of the Howell Family Respond to the OK Pardon & Parole Board’s Clemency Recommendation
For the past twenty-one years, both the state and federal judicial system have been involved scrutinizing this case. The courts have heard multiple appeals in multiple forms and at multiple levels from Julius Jones. They have found no claim which necessitated the granting of relief. Julius Jones’ defense team’s only hope now is to create such an uproar through a misinformation campaign as to put pressure on those that grant commutation or clemency. So for that, they turn to celebrities to help spread their misinformation…athletes and influencers with millions of followers. They turn to social justice warriors who do not have access to the transcripts, or to the legal opinions authored by the various appellate courts. Individuals who blindly trust that what they are being told is the truth. These social justice warriors, whom although well intentioned, know nothing about the rules of the evidence, trial strategy and the admissibility of evidence.
Fact vs. Fiction
Criminal Past
FICTION: Jones stated at the time of his trial he had not been involved in any violent criminal activity.
FACT: Jones pled guilty to a robbery with a firearm that occurred just six days prior to the murder. He was positively identified by the victim in this case. Jones was also involved in an additional armed carjacking and attempted kidnapping.
Jones’ criminal history was filled with the use and threat of violence: armed robbery, carjackings, and assault. The State presented evidence that Jones had on at least three occasions taken property by force and by gunpoint.
State’s Alleged Deal with Jordan
FICTION: Jones alleges Christopher Jordan had a secret plea deal with the State.
FACT: Jordan’s release was not at the hands of the State, or even the Pardon & Parole Board, rather Jordan was released due to an updated operating procedure (OP060211), which amended how earned credits were applied to prisoners with split life sentences. The departmental authority responsible for time calculations, sentence interpretations and offender release dates signed an affidavit confirming the details of Jordan release. In fact, in a 2012 letter to the Pardon & Parole Board, the State objected to the parole of Jordan and requested he serve his entire sentence. Additionally, both of Jordan’s attorneys have signed affidavits stating there was no secret deal with the State.
Jones and his supporters are fully aware of the circumstances of Jordan’s release (Jones refers to the updateed operating procedure in his Commutation Application), yet they continue to knowingly spread misinformation.
Inconsistent Alibi
FICTION: Jones and his family claim he was at his parents’ house at the time of the murder.
FACT: Initially, Jones told his attorneys that his parents were mistaken and he was not at his parents’ home the night of the murder.
FACT: Two uninvolved eye-witnesses placed Jones with the Suburban at Ladell King’s apartment shortly after the murder.
FACT: Jones’ then-girlfriend testified that Jones told her he was on the South side of Oklahoma City at the time of the murder.
FACT: Jones’ family claimed a family-friend was also present at their house the night of the murder. The family-friend testified she was not there that night.
DNA Testing
FICTION: Jones stated that the DNA testing of the red bandana would exonerate him and he could not have worn the bandana because his saliva was not found on it.
FACT: A partial DNA profile was obtained from the red bandana; the major component of the DNA profile was consistent with Jones. The conclusive results of the DNA profile shows the probability of randomly selecting an unrelated individual with the same DNA profile is approximately 1 in 110 million in the U.S. African American population.
The lab stated a negative test for saliva does not mean that Jones was not wearing the red bandana, and further clarified that any saliva present may have broken down over time or the saliva could have been diluted below the sensitivity of the test.
Christopher Jordan’s DNA was not found.
Jones’ College Academics
FICTION: Jones was referred to as a an outstanding engineering student at the University of Oklahoma.
FACT: Jones was not even enrolled at the University of Oklahoma at the time of the murder. During his Fall 1998 semester, Jones was been placed on academic probation and eventually did not complete the Spring 1999 semester. Jones attempted to re-enroll for the 1999/2000 school year, but his application for financial aid was declined because he had not met specific standards of academic performance — minimum number of hours, minimum cumulative GPA and minimum combined cumulative GPA
Ineffective Counsel
FICTION: Jones claims he was denied effective assistance of trial counsel.
FACT: The subsequent appeals and evidentiary hearing, the court has ruled that Jones’ counsel made informed decisions and applied reasonable strategies in his defense. Jones failed to demonstrate any prejudice from the trial counsel’s performance resulting in a different outcome.
Ineffective assistance of counsel claims are made in every capital appeal.
Alleged Racial Bias
FICTION: Jones claims that racism played a role in his conviction and sentence, specifically citing an arresting officer referred to him using a racial epithet, prosecutors appealed to vicious racial stereotypes, and a juror harbored a racial animus against him.
FACT: Jones never made the allegation of an arresting officer using a racial epithet until the airing of The Last Defense.
FACT: Jones’ only alleged example of racializaiton was the prosecutions use of the word “prowl.” The truth is the word “prowl’ is very apt for what Jones did when he drove around until he found his prey.
FACT: During the trial, a juror notified the judge of a comment overheard by another juror, but it was never reported as hearing the use of a racial slur. The reporting juror went on to admit that the evidence was so overwhelming that she “still believes to this day, that Mr. Jones is guilty of shooting and killing the victim.”
Description of the Shooter
FICTION: Jones claimed that the eye-witness’s description of the shooter matched Jordan, who wore his hair in cornrows.
FACT: The eye-witness’ description is being misconstrued. She testified that she could see about a half an inch to an inch of the shooter’s hair between the stocking cap and his ear, referring to the space between, not the length of the hair.
The eye-witness specifically denied seeing braids or cornrows.
FACT: An independent eyewitness placed two, young black males in the Braum’s parking lot moments before the murder, testifying that the driver undoubtedly had cornrows.
District Attorney
FICTION: Justice for Julius and the ACLU have both stated that Bob Macy was the lead prosecutor in Jones’ trial.
FACT: Bob Macy did not prosecute Jones. In fact, Macy was not even in office at the time of the trial. Wes Lane was the District Attorney in office at the time of the trial.
Jones Didn’t Have the Opportunity to Testify
FICTION: Jones claims he was not afforded the opportunity to testify in court.
FACT: The trial transcript reflects that the judge specifically asked Jones if he wanted to testify in his own defense. Jones waived his right to testify.
Relationship with Jordan
FICTION: Julius Jones claims that his relationship with Jordan was only casual.
FACT: Jones’ girlfriend testified that Jones and Jordan were best friends, especially during the Summer of 1999.
On the night of July 28th, 1999, Paul Howell was brutally murdered in front of his sister and two young daughters as he pulled his Suburban into his parents’ driveway after an evening of back-to-school shopping.
Julius Jones walked up to the car and put the gun to Paul’s head, pulling the trigger. As Paul’s sister was rushing the girls out of the car and towards the house, Jones fired another shot before driving away in the Suburban. The victim’s sister told police that the killer was wearing a red bandana, a white shirt and a black stocking cap.
On July 31st, Julius Jones was arrested and charged with the murder of Paul Howell. Police found a .25 caliber handgun (the murder weapon - confirmed by ballistics testing) wrapped in a red bandana in the attic space above Jones’s bedroom closet at his parents’ home. The magazine for the gun was in the doorbell chime housing and .25 caliber ammunition was recoverd from Jones’ vehicle which had been taken to a mechanic shop in the immediate days following the murder. Jones also had a white T-shirt with black trim and a black stocking cap in his bedroom.
Jones had a history of criminal and violent activity leading up to the murder of Paul Howell, including two other armed carjackings and attempted kidnapping. Jones had also pled guilty, before the murder, to unlawful use of a fictitious name, false declaration to a pawnbroker, concealing stolen property, and larceny from a retailer.
Jones was found guilty of the murder of Paul Howell in a court of law and convicted of felony murder, possession of a firearm and conspiracy, and conspiracy to commit a felony (armed robbery).
Julius Jones has had his day in court, numerous times. His case has been granted reviews in the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (“OCCA”) 4 times. All told, because of changes in the composition of the OCCA, a total of 13 appellate judges have reviewed Jones’s conviction and sentence. For each appeal the OCCA found “overwhelming” evidence of Jones’s guilt.
In 2017, DNA testing of the red bandana found wrapped around the murder weapon in Jones’s home further incriminated Jones by testing positive for his DNA.
“The fact is, Julius Jones murdered Paul Howell in cold blood in front of his sister and daughters. No celebrity imploration or profusion of misinformation will change that.”
- Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter
