Lawyer-in-training Kim Kardashian West is using her sizable platform in another bid for justice. The KKW founder met with Julius Jones in Oklahoma City, as he attempt to stave off execution. Jones was 19 in 1999 when he was arrested for shooting a 45-year-old man named Paul Howell. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002 and sentenced to death, but has long maintained his innocence.
Sources tell TMZ that she met with Jones and his lawyer, Dale Baich, then with several of his family members at a local church. His mother reportedly emotionally recalled Jones staying home with her all night on the night of Howell’s murder.
Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter is not happy. He told TMZ that “every criticism surrounding his case has been disproven.”
He added: “Celebrity endorsements and biased documentaries cannot erase the facts of the case that overwhelmingly prove Julius Jones killed Paul Howell in cold blood.”
Kardashian West became interested in the case after watching the Viola Davis-produced docuseries The Last Defense, about his arrest and trial. She has also promoted a Change.org petition, which, with her help has now been signed millions of times. Many critics of the case have said Jones, who is Black, was racially profiled and had a poor defense.
On Twitter, fans toasted Kardasian West for her efforts. One wrote that she “continues to be an amazing champion for truth and justice. Today she visited Julius Jones on death row in McAlester before meeting with his family in OKC. We appreciate her activism and her dedication to saving this innocent man from execution.”