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Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt commuted the death sentence of Julius Jones hours before he was set to be executed for a murder conviction on Thursday. Jones will now serve life in prison, The New York Times reports.

“After prayerful consideration and reviewing materials presented by all sides of this case, I have determined to commute Julius Jones’s sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” Stitt said in a statement.

Jones was convicted in 2002 of first-degree murder in the killing of Paul Howell during a carjacking where he was fatally shot in 1999. Jones,...

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt granted clemency on Thursday to Julius Jones, just hours before he was to be executed for a murder conviction.

Jones’ case had drawn the attention of Kim Kardashian and other celebrities. Kardashian, an advocate for criminal justice reform, tweeted about Stitt’s decision, “Thank you so much Governor Stitt for commuting Julius Jones sentence to life without parole and stopping his execution today.” She said that she spoke to Jones on the phone on Wednesday.

“He also wanted me to pass a few messages along that were really important to him,” she wrote. “The most important is that you have to always make sure you are doing the right thing. Julius was hanging out with the wrong crowd and that landed him in the position he’s in today.”

I’m so grateful to everyone who used their voice and helped to save Julius’s life today.

Vic Mensa performed a pair of songs from his upcoming EP, I Tape, with Wyclef Jean and Peter CottonTale on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Thursday, February 25th.

The performance was staged in a large warehouse space and began with Mensa and Jean performing “Shelter” while they and a group of men wearing prison uniforms and hoods lay on the ground. Over the course of the performance, the men slowly sat up, and when Mensa switched over to the fiery “Fr33dom” everyone had risen and coalesced into a euphoric mosh pit.

“America’s Got Talent” lost around 1 million total viewers from its previous episode, but still led NBC to an easy win on Tuesday night.

The talent show scored a 1.1 rating among adults 18-49, which represents a season 15 low and a 4% drop from last episode, which aired June 30. That number is also its lowest ever on Tuesday nights (its Wednesday broadcasts scored a 1.1 on multiple occasions last season). News of the slight dip comes right as the show’s creator Simon Cowell acquired full control of the Syco Entertainment brand, and by extension of the series. 7.6 million viewers tuned in to “Agt” last night, a 10% fall from the 8.4 million who watched the previous edition. Later on, “World of Dance” also ticked down to a season low 0.7 rating and just under 4 million viewers.

Over on ABC, an episode of “What Would You Do?” in which John Quiñones interviewed star Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon...

Just days after Kim Kardashian successfully convinced President Donald Trump to pardon Alice Johnson, the reality star is seemingly ready to move on to her next wrongful conviction case. Kim is determined to exonerate four-time convicted murderer Kevin Cooper, who has been on death row for the past 33 years. The Kuwtk star is now urging California Governor Jerry Brown to allow the retesting of the prisoner's DNA on Twitter. Governor Brown, can you please test the DNA of Kevin Cooper? https://t.co/MB4kE03sC4— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) June 16, 2018 So, what did Kevin Cooper do to end up on death row? In 1985, the now 59-year-old was found guilty of the murders of Douglas and Peggy Ryen, their 10-year-old daughter Jessica, and her friend Chris Hughes, who was also 10 years old at the time. The father of Chris, Bill Hughes, found the bodies of his son and the Ryen family in their home,...

Philip Markoff, the "Craigslist Killer," died from suicide in 2010 before standing trial for murder. But he didn't die before leaving a message for his ex-fiancée. At the time of his death, Markoff was awaiting trial in the murder of Julissa Brisman, a woman whose sensual massage offer he found on Craigslist. Brisman was found dead in a Boston hotel on April 14, 2009. A week later — after investigators found duct tape, wrist restraints, and a semi-automatic handgun in his apartment — Markoff was arraigned for the crime. He was also charged with the robbery of two other women whom he had found on Craigslist. On Aug. 15, 2010, Markoff died by suicide at Boston's Nashua Street Jail. As ABC News reported at the time, the 24-year-old used a makeshift razor to cut major arteries in his body and stuffed toilet paper down his throat so he couldn't be resuscitated. And apparently, as he bled out,...

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare to find those entrusted with their children are truly monsters. Below are four real-life stories of babysitters who have snapped — for the most sinister reasons. And if their "pure evil" actions don't get under your skin, then just note that they all didn't happen that long ago... The Manhattan Horror Story (Photo Credit: Getty Images) It was the question on everyone's lips in the trial earlier this month — why would Yoselyn Ortega, a seemingly innocent nanny, murder the children she watches — Lucia, 6, and Leo, 3 — in the cold blood? On Oct. 25, 2012, Marina panicked when she and her daughter Nessie, three, arrived at Lucia's ballet class to discover she hadn't arrived. Marina rushed back to her Manhattan home to find her children in a blood-splattered bathtub and a kitchen knife dumped in the sink. Finally, in a case that shocked the world, Yoselyn admitted why...

The premiere of the ABC documentary series “The Last Defense” failed to capture a substantial audience on Tuesday night.

The docu-series, which is executive produced by Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, explores flaws in the American justice system through the cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. The premiere episode averaged a 0.5 rating in adults 18-49 and 2.7 million viewers. That was good enough to tie CBS’ “48 Hours: NCIS” in the demo, yet “The Last Defense” finished last in the timeslot in total viewers.

Still, “The Last Defense” drew ABC’s biggest summertime audience to the 10 p.m. hour since August 2016. ABC aired only repeats prior to 10 p.m.

On NBC, “America’s Got Talent” and “World of Dance” were both even and topped the night.

CBS aired mostly repeats until “48 Hours: NCIS”, which was even.

On Fox, “Beat Shazam” and “Love Connection” were steady.

The CW aired only repeats.

NBC...

ABC and Viola Davis have teamed up for a new true crime series that will make viewers question the American justice system. The Last Defense, premiering June 12, will examine the cases of two death row inmates who may not be guilty of the crimes for which they were sentenced. ABC's seven-part series will reexamine the cases of inmates Darlie Routier and Julius Jones, both of whom have spent nearly 20 years on death row. The true crime series will lay out the details of each case while also providing new insights into the investigations, as well as interviews with the inmates and those who are closest to them.

Julius Jones and Darlie Routier have been convicted of murders that they maintain that they didn't commit, and the details of their cases will make viewers question how these two people ended up not only behind bars, but facing a death sentence. Thanks to Davis and her husband,...

On July 28, 1999, insurance executive Paul Scott Howell was shot in the head and robbed of his Gmc Suburban in his parents' driveway in Edmond, Ok. The 45-year-old was returning from a back-to-school shopping trip with his two young daughters and his sister. Nearly two-and-a-half years later, 21-year-old Julius Jones was convicted of first-degree murder in the case, as well as conspiracy to commit a felony. He was a University of Oklahoma freshman on a Presidential Leadership Scholarship at the time. And now, after nearly two decades on death row, Jones is the subject of national news again as one of the subjects of new ABC docu-series The Last Defense. Like Darlie Routier, the other death-row inmate profiled on the series, Jones has always maintained his innocence. During his trial, his attorneys put the blame on Jones' co-defendant, then-22-year-old Christopher Jordan, who had admitted to telling different stories. In his closing argument,...

Texas woman Darlie Routier has sat on death row for two decades now, ever since her 1997 conviction for the murder of one of her two slain children. Some think the case is open-and-shut, but others believe Routier has been framed for the grisly deaths of sons Devon, 6, and Damon, 5. Now, a new TV show called The Last Defense, executive produced by Viola Davis, will reinvestigate the events of June 6, 1996, in Rowlett, TX. At 2 a.m. local time that night, Routier called 911, yelling, "They just stabbed me and my children." When first responders showed up to her house, they found the then-26-year-old wife and mother holding a towel to a stab wound on her neck. They also found Devon dead and Damon dying, both boys having sustained deep stab wounds to the chest. Routier told the cops she had woken up to find a man on top of her, but soon they grew suspicious.