Month: November 2025

By Meghan Mosley

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    Oklahoma (KOCO) — It has been exactly four years since Julius Jones was set to be executed by the state of Oklahoma.

His case made national headlines, and it is one many Oklahomans remember. But for his family, this case has defined their lives for more than 20 years.

“You’ve kept faith this whole time. Talk to me about that,” KOCO’s Meghan Mosley said to Julius’ mother, Madeline Davis-Jones.

“That’s all I have. All you need is a little bit of faith,” Davis-Jones said.

Faith is what has gotten the mother through the last two decades.

“Three days after he had just turned 19, all of this happened,” Davis-Jones said.

It was July 1999, when businessman Paul Howell was shot and killed in front of his family in Edmond.

“It happened so fast, and you’re just in this situation where you’re just thinking… run,” Rachel Howell, Paul Howell’s daughter, said in 2021.

Julius was charged for the crime and was later sentenced to death for Paul Howell’s murder.

“Julius Jones murdered Paul Howell in cold blood in front of his sister and daughter,” former Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter said in 2020.

Julius’ life, and his mother’s life, changed in that moment.

“It could just take a few minutes, and your life can be turned upside down,” Davis-Jones said.

While her life changed, the case took off. It drew national attention due to another person admitting to the murder and various claims of racial bias.

A-list celebrities even took up the case.

Meanwhile, a mother was still doing everything she could to keep her son alive.

“My faith and the people I’m surrounded by keeps me a lot. It gives me strength,” Davis-Jones said.

Nov. 18, 2021, was the day he would have been put to death.

“Walk me through Nov. 18. That day,” Meghan Mosley said.

“Oh gosh, you would do that to me. Nov. 18, well the night before, can I go back a little bit?” Davis-Jones said. “When we made it home that evening, I just had to give it to the Lord. I said You gave me this child, and I’m going to have to give him back to You. I said because I did all I could do. I know he’s innocent, and I don’t believe that You would give me something and take it away like that, and I just had to trust Him.”

But in the hours before Julius was set to die, Gov. Kevin Stitt spared his life, commuting his sentence to life without the possibility of parole.

“Next thing I know, when they told me that the governor had stopped the execution, I don’t know how to tell you how I felt. You know, how you feel a sigh of relief, and it’s like something has been taken from you but given back to you,” Davis-Jones said. “I was happy but then sad because he’s still not coming home.”

The Jones family said their fight is still not over.

“You were hesitant when you said justice for Julius. Do you think he got justice?” Meghan Mosley asked.

“I don’t feel he got justice. It’s I song a listen to. It’s good to be alive, but it’s best to live. And I don’t feel like that he’s gotten justice. He’s gotten a chance to someday have true justice,” Davis-Jones said.

His attorneys are still pushing to get him out.

“Why are you guys still fighting for him to get out?” Meghan Mosley asked.

“We’re fighting for him, because we know that he’s innocent,” Davis-Jones said.

But in the meantime, Julius remains optimistic about life.

“I think it’s amazing how he’s incarcerated, but he still has this vision, this gift, and God has brought out a lot of gifts in him,” Davis-Jones said. “The last time I was able to see him, he was beginning to get gray, but I told him he’s joining in the club now. It’s just a lot of things, but I try to look at the positive things.”

His mother also remains hopeful for the future.

“I have a good feeling, if they really do the right thing and put all the pieces together, I know he’s coming on home,” Davis-Jones said.

KOCO reached out to the family of Paul Howell. His daughter, Rachel, said that their family continues to live every day with the reality that her father was murdered, and their lives were permanently changed.

While others mark the date as an anniversary of clemency, for the Howell family, it’s a reminder of the life that was taken and the pain they still carry.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kilee Thomas

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    SHAWNEE, Oklahoma (KOCO) — An 18-year-old girl in Pottawatomie County is in critical condition after law enforcement said she was stabbed 14 times by an obsessed co-worker outside her home.

According to a 911 call, the attacker approached the girl wearing a ski mask while she was eating a burger on her porch near Hillcrest Drive in Shawnee.

“Someone with a ski mask came up to my daughter on the porch. She was eating a burger and what did he do? He started stabbing her, and he said he was so sorry. He said, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,’ and he started stabbing her,” the 911 caller said.

Authorities said the attacker hid and waited for the teen before launching the assault.

“He was just obsessed with this female. She had no interest whatsoever, and it just drove him to the brink of committing this crime. He went as far as sending unsolicited DoorDash orders, different gifts that were not wanted,” said Capt. Jared Strand, Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office public information officer.

The teenager and the 24-year-old suspect worked together, which is when the stalking began, deputies said.

The teenager’s older brother intervened during the attack, sustaining minor injuries.

“He saved his sister’s life,” Strand said.

The girl suffered wounds to her neck, wrist, face and lungs.

Through interviews and matching the suspect’s vehicle, deputies identified the co-worker and arrested him in Newalla, where they found evidence linking him to the attack.

“Anything like this, please report it to us immediately. Even though it may appear not to be a big deal and it’s someone who may have a crush on you or whatever it is, call us so we can take an information report, so we have all this information documented,” he said.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Beau Bowman

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    DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — A rifle was found on the roof of a Des Moines police squad car around 2 p.m. Sunday after someone driving behind the car noticed it and alerted an officer.

“I thought maybe it was a bike rack at first or something but I kind of seen it hanging over the edge and I was like no … is that … ? I think that’s an assault rifle just sitting on top of their vehicle,” said Andrea Jones, who first saw the weapon on the roof near the Des Moines Public Schools Central Campus on the west side of downtown.

Jones said she caught up with the officer at a red light, got out of her car and waved him down.

“I approached him with caution and just told him and he was completely stunned, and I could just tell on his face like he was a little confused, and I keep telling him, and I’m like pointing, ‘There’s something up there that you might want to get,’” she said.

Des Moines Police Chief Michael McTaggart called the incident a “serious mistake,” and said the officer seen in the video was not at fault; the rifle had been left on the vehicle by the officer who used the car earlier.

“At shift change, an officer was offloading his equipment, set his rifle on top of the car, and then left and left that rifle there. Next officer came in, checked that car out, and didn’t see the rifle on the roof and drove away,” said Sgt. Paul Parizek, the department’s public information officer. “I think we’ve all had a situation in our lives when we’ve misplaced something, we’re looking for it. We walk by it two or three different times. That might help explain it. But it definitely does not excuse what happened.”

Jones said she was grateful the rifle was removed before anyone was hurt.

“Well then (my niece) said what if it falls off, and I was like, ‘Don’t say that, we’re behind him, what if it fires off or something?’”

DMPD says the incident is under internal review.

This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.