Oklahoma City – In a recent letter to Governor Kevin Stitt, a pair of leading organizations in the conservative movement have supported commutation for Julius Jones, who is facing execution next month unless Stitt or courts act to remove him from death row.

In a joint communication to the state’s chief executive, Matt Schlapp (chairman, American Conservative Union) and Timothy Head (Executive Director, The Faith and Freedom Coalition) observed:

“Neither of our organizations has ever publicly opposed capital punishment, nor have we weighed in on a case like Jones’. But we are skeptical of such enormous government power. Governments make mistakes, juries err, too. In fact, since the Death Penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976, 12% of those on Death Row have been fully exonerated.”

After reviewing evidence in the case — including information that was not available to the jury in the original trial and conviction of Jones for the murder of Edmond civic leader Paul Howell – the two men wrote:

“Taken together, we believe that doubt about Jones’ responsibility for the capital crime is not insignificant. Indeed, that is why the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Parole recommended commutation of Jones’ death sentence despite pressures being waged by District Attorney David Prater to cow them into rubber-stamping the execution. In such circumstances, commuting Jones’ sentence to life in prison would be appropriate. Public safety would be sustained, while the chances of a wrongful execution would be eliminated.”

The two national conservative leaders expanded their letter to a broader pro-life theme at the end of the letter to Stitt, who has executive power to act on commutations recommended at the Pardon and Parole Board. They wrote:

“We recognize that this is a difficult decision, and we don’t envy you having to make it. However, as representatives of staunchly pro-life organizations, we believe that taking an innocent life – whether a baby in the mother’s womb or a wrongfully convicted adult – is wrong. As long as that outcome is possible, we believe one must err on the side of life. Accordingly, we urge you to commute Julius Jones’ sentence.”

The letter was published on page 5A of The Oklahoman, the state’s largest newspaper, on Wednesday morning, October 27.

NOTE: Patrick B. McGuigan is the founder of CapitolBeatok.com, an independent, non-partisan news service based in Oklahoma City. He is the co-editor of Crime and Punishment in Modern America (University Press of America/Free Congress Foundation), a compilation of essays by conservative and libertarian writers published during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.