Make It Plain with Mark Thompson

It was the summer of 1999 and Julius Jones was a 19-year-old college student home for the summer. Before he could return to school that fall, he found himself locked up for a murder he didn't commit. This is the story of Julius Jones, an innocent man sitting on death row in Oklahoma, potentially receiving an execution date before the end of 2020. That's where Cece Jones-Davis comes in. She is a speaker, writer, and social advocate, now working on behalf of Julius as she leads the Justice for Julius Campaign. In today's episode, we hear the story of the crime that started it all, where his original defense team went wrong, the prosecutor they were up against (once named "2nd deadliest prosecutor in the U.S."), and all the ways in which the system failed the young, innocent man. Despite 20 trying years in prison, he hasn't given up hope for clemency, and Cece tells us about the growing momentum behind the campaign, which now includes the support of celebrities like Viola Davis, Trae Youn