(NEW YORK) — Nearly 57 years after the assassination of Malcolm X in the New York City neighborhood of Washington Heights, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance is moving to vacate the convictions of two of the men convicted as accomplices, his office said Wednesday.
Muhammad Aziz, now 83 and previously known as Norman Butler, spent 22 years in prison before he was paroled in 1985. A co-defendant who also maintained his innocence, Khalil Islam, died in 2009. Confessed assassin Thomas Hagan had long said neither man participated in killing Malcolm X at the Audubon Ballroom on Feb. 21, 1965.
Vance’s office, along with the Innocence Project and civil rights attorney David Shanies, began reexamining the investigation last year.
There’s a hearing Thursday at which the two convictions are expected to be thrown out.
(WASHINGTON) — Jacob Chansley, the self-described “QAnon Shaman” who infamously marched through the U.S. Capitol with a spear and horned helmet during the Jan. 6 riot, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison for his role in the attack.
It matches the longest sentence handed down to any Jan. 6 participant, following the 41-month sentence handed down last week to Scott Fairlam, a former mixed martial arts fighter who pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer during the riot.
“The defendant was among the first 30 rioters to penetrate the U.S. Capitol building,” prosecutors said of Chansley in their filing. “The defendant then stalked the hallowed halls of the building, riling up other members of the mob with his screaming obscenities about our nation’s lawmakers, and flouting the ‘opportunity’ to rid our government of those he has long considered to be traitors.”
Chansley — who wasn’t accused of assaulting law enforcement or destroying property — pleaded guilty on Sept. 3 to one felony count of unlawfully obstructing an official proceeding.
On Wednesday, prior to sentencing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall played social media recordings of Chansley in the Senate chamber, chanting what sounded like a bizarre prayer and blowing a bullhorn.
“That is not peaceful,” Paschall said. “That is chilling.”
Chansley, addressing the court, said he was “a good man who broke the law” and implored Judge Royce Lamberth to “judge a tree by its roots” in considering his sentence. “I am in no way, shape, or form a violent criminal. I am not an insurrectionist. I am certainly not a domestic terrorist,” he said. “I hope that you see my heart.”
“I was wrong for entering the Capitol. I have no excuse — no excuse whatsoever,” Chansley said. “In retrospect, I’d do everything differently on January 6 … I would try with all my heart and soul to stop people.”
“I think the hardest part about this is that I know that I’m to blame,” he added. “I hope that you see my remorse is genuine.”
Prosecutors called Chansley a key figure in the Capitol attack.
“The government cannot overstate the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct as one of the most prominent figures of the historic riot on the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” prosecutors said. “His consistent rhetoric before and after the event, and his apparent ability to carry out his intentions of violently removing the ‘traitors’ in our government, is clear from the evidence in this case. Only the valiant efforts of law enforcement kept those upon whom he set his sights out of his path.”
Multiple videos and images showed Chansley carrying his spear into the Senate chamber, where prosecutors say he led a group of rioters in a prayer on the dais and left a menacing note behind for then-Vice President Mike Pence.
“It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!” the note read.
According to a brief presented to a judge in January, “Chansley is a high-profile leader and the self-professed shaman of QAnon.” In September, Chansley’s attorney said his client had rejected the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Chansley’s attorney, Albert Watkins, had argued that his client suffers from significant mental health vulnerabilities and last week asked for a sentence “significantly below” the 51 months being sought by prosecutors.
“This case is about a remarkable, gentle, kind, smart, spiritual, non-violent young man who has spent his life trying to overcome significant but secreted vulnerabilities, hardships, and societal neglect to self-educate scholastically, self-educate spiritually, self-navigate societally, and self-conclude that he is accountable for his actions, seeks to be held accountable, and wishes nothing short of the Court recognizing same,” Watkins said.
“He seeks not to be seen as a political prisoner,” Watkins said of his client. “He seeks not to blame a former president for his actions. He seeks not to justify his actions with any explanation. He seeks solely to be held accountable.”
(WASHINGTON) — After a 34-day protest garnered local and national attention, Howard University said it has reached an agreement with its students, who demanded better living conditions in on-campus dormitories.
On Oct. 12, Howard students began occupying the Blackburn center, a student hub and cafeteria located in the central yard of the campus, transforming the area into a “tent city.”
The protests continued until Monday, Dr. Wayne Frederick, president of Howard University, said, and would come to be known as #BlackburnTakeover across social media platforms.
Several students told ABC News that they faced a host of health concerns, including mold, infestations, and flooding in some college dorms. In October, Howard University officials listed 34 reports of concerns related to discoloration, or suspected fungal growth, across more than 5,050 beds — 0.67% of all on-campus beds.
The problems were allegedly so bad that many students preferred to sleep outside, in tents and sleeping bags, rather than in the university’s dorms. That is how the “tent city” protests began.
Students take action
“About one month ago, student protesters initiated their occupation of Blackburn. Today, they agreed to leave,” Frederick said in a statement Monday, adding that he also expected non-student protesters to depart the surrounding area and end their occupation of the campus.
The agreement came after days of negotiations and various threats of legal action from the students.
“I was shocked that they were willing to have a conversation, because it took them a long time to even say anything to us about the protest,” said Lamiya Murray, an 18-year-old freshman and the main organizer of the demonstration.
“The students have achieved the objectives and something meaningful. What they got by their personal sacrifice was sunlight put onto Howard in a way that a private academy normally wouldn’t receive,” Donald Temple, the students’ attorney, told ABC News. “Howard is private, and so is Howard’s policy and procedures, but the accountability from students, faculty and alumni are bigger.”
Temple, a Howard alumnus, said he’s represented Howard University student protestors for years, including during a 1989 protest in which they were advocating for similar demands.
“This double standard exists within these HBCUs, and students are attending these colleges which are underfunded when all these kids are saying they want competitive education and proper conditions,” Temple added.
Demonstrators such as Murray and Deja Redding, a Howard University graduate student and director of The Live Movement, a campus-based organization focused on advocating for racial equity in education, said they faced verbal threats from University administrators due to their involvement in the movement. They were even told they could face expulsion.
Murray, who spent nearly 33 nights in a tent outside the center, said she was worried about the wellbeing of the students and fearful of what the outcome of the protests would be.
“I ended up having to talk myself into doing a lot of stuff anywhere from sleeping outside to using the bathroom and Porta Potty,” Murray told ABC News. “Am I willing to sit here in the cold for these demands? I had to talk myself into it most nights, and I just realized that what I’m doing is bigger than just me, bigger than Howard, bigger than an HBCU; it’s revolutionary.”
In their protests, students demanded an in-person town hall with Howard’s president and other officials, the permanent reinstatement of student, alumni and faculty affiliate positions that are being removed from the school’s board of trustees, a meeting with university leaders about housing and legal, disciplinary and academic immunity for protesters. Student organizers also want to weigh in on Howard’s new housing plan.
“As we close in on the Thanksgiving holiday, I am encouraged and excited about the work we have accomplished — and the work we will continue to do — together to reinforce Howard University,” Frederick said in his statement Monday. “I look forward to sharing details soon on our ideas that will address concerns and build a culture where all are heard.”
He added that Howard plans to make improvements throughout the campus, and is committed to maintaining “safe and high-end housing.”
Even though they reached an agreement with the university on Monday, students said the school did not agree to all their requests, specifically the re-election of the student and alumni on the board of trustees.
Murray and Redding said they plan to take legal action.
Protest goes viral
Howard, known to some as “The Mecca,” is one of the most notable Historically Black Colleges. The students’ outcry sparked attention from high-profile Howard alumni including Yandy Smith, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Debbie Allen.
“The leadership saw these students as renegades who did not represent the larger student body, even though their issues affected thousands of kids,” Temple said. “They weren’t by themselves. The alumni and the nation were right behind their shadows.”
Because Howard provides priority housing for freshman and sophomores, the alumni network plays a prominent role in providing additional housing resources to Howard’s juniors, seniors and graduate students.
“Some of the behind-the-scenes things that people don’t know or see is that alumni activated a platform to house a lot of these students who are unable to live in their dorms or just weren’t able to get housing,” Redding said.
Now, Howard students hope their successful movement inspires others at HBCUs in need of improvements to speak up.
“These students should be able to hold their administration accountable. Plenty of other HBCUs have reached out with the intention to go ahead and start moving towards holding a demonstration on their campus, maybe not to the magnitude of Howard’s, but they’re looking to have a demonstration of some sort on their own needs that they have,” Redding said.
Howard’s student organizers told ABC News, they’re expected to hold a town hall with the University on March 1, 2022, as part of the agreement.
They are also calling for Frederick’s resignation.
ABC News’ Adia Robinson contributed to this report.
(WARNER ROBINS, Ga.) — A search for five “violent” inmates who were at large days after escaping from a Georgia jail has ended, authorities said.
The Warner Robins Police Department announced via Twitter that its officers along with a fugitive task force from the United States Marshals Service had captured the fifth and final escapee on Tuesday night.
Tyree Montan Jackson, 27; Dennis Penix Jr., 28; Brandon Pooler, 24; Lewis Wendell Evans III, 22; and Tyree Williams Jr., 33, all fled the Pulaski County Jail in Hawkinsville, about 130 miles south of Atlanta, on the night of Nov. 12, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
All five inmates have “violent criminal histories,” including two who are charged with murder, the GBI said. They had two Tasers when they escaped and were seen traveling in a stolen white van, according to the GBI.
One of the escapees, Jackson, was captured Sunday. A second inmate, Evans, was taken into custody late Sunday night in Warner Robins, about 100 miles south of Atlanta, the GBI said.
As the search continued for the three other inmates, the U.S. Marshals Service offered a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to any arrests.
While the last remaining escapee was taken into custody Tuesday night in Warner Robins, it was unclear where and when the other two were captured.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 765,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-FDA may issue guidance on boosters for adults as soon as this week
-Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization
-21 states see at least 10% jump in daily cases
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 16, 4:40 pm
DC to lift indoor mask mandate on Monday, masks still required in White House
Washington, D.C., will lift its indoor mask mandate on Monday.
“Instead of following a blanket mandate, residents, visitors, and workers will be advised to follow risk-based guidance from DC Health that accounts for current health metrics and a person’s vaccination status,” Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said in a statement
Private businesses can still require masks.
Masks will still be required in places including public transportation, schools, child care facilities and nursing homes.
The White House will still require masks indoors, a White House spokesman said, because D.C. has a “substantial” level of community transmission, according to the CDC.
“The White House follows CDC guidance which recommends masking in areas of high or substantial transmission,” the spokesman, Kevin Munoz, told ABC News.
ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson, Ben Gittleson
Nov 16, 4:33 pm
American Academy of Pediatrics updates guidance for testing in kids
The American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its testing guidance for children, aligning its recommendations with the CDC’s for fully vaccinated individuals.
AAP now recommends that fully vaccinated people, who were in close contact with someone with COVID-19, should be tested five to seven days after the exposure. It is recommended that individuals who are not fully vaccinated be tested immediately after they learn of exposure. If they test negative, they should be tested again five to seven days after their last exposure, or immediately after symptoms develop.
The CDC already recommended that vaccinated people get tested five to seven days after exposure.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Sony Salzman
Nov 16, 4:20 pm
FDA may issue guidance on boosters for adults as soon as this week
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet on Friday to discuss expanding booster eligibility for the Pfizer vaccine.
A government official confirmed to ABC News that the FDA may issue guidance on Pfizer and Moderna boosters for adults as soon as this week.
According to federal guidelines, boosters are currently available for: adults who received the Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago; Moderna/Pfizer recipients who are 65 and older and six months out from their second dose; and adult Moderna/Pfizer recipients who are six months out from the second dose and at higher risk because of a comorbidity, living or work environment.
But booster eligibility has already been expanded in some states this week, including New York and Arkansas.
ABC News’ Eric M. Strauss
Nov 16, 2:10 pm
Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization
Pfizer has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its COVID-19 pill, the company announced in a press release Tuesday.
Both Merck and Pfizer are working on pills that appear very effective at keeping patients out of the hospital, according to the companies.
The Merck medication could be FDA authorized, recommended and available by the end of the year. The FDA’s advisory committee is slated to discuss the Merck application on Nov. 30.
Authorization for Pfizer is not expected until early next year.
(KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis.) — Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made a plea for peace as protesters gathered outside the Kenosha County Courthouse while awaiting a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse homicide trial.
After hearing two weeks of testimony and closing arguments, the Kenosha County Circuit Court jury started deliberating Tuesday in the closely watched trial.
Amid the wait for a verdict, Evers called for people to assemble “safely and peacefully” in Kenosha.
“Kenoshans are strong, resilient, and have worked hard to heal and rebuild together over the past year,” he tweeted Tuesday. “Any efforts to sow division and hinder that healing are unwelcome in Kenosha and Wisconsin. Regardless of the outcome in this case, I urge peace in Kenosha and across our state.”
Ahead of the verdict, Evers had previously authorized about 500 National Guard troops to be on standby to support public safety efforts if needed.
Local authorities said they “recognize the anxiety” surrounding the trial, but are not issuing a curfew or road closures at this time.
“Our departments have worked together and made coordinated efforts over the last year to improve response capabilities to large scale events. We have also strengthened our existing relationships with State and Federal resources,” the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department and Kenosha Police Department said in a joint statement Tuesday. “At this time, we have no reason to facilitate road closures, enact curfews or ask our communities to modify their daily routines.”
Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree reckless homicide, first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and two felony counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.
The charges stem from the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and a shooting that left 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz wounded during riots that erupted in Kenosha last year over the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Those gathering outside the courthouse have included members of Blake’s family and Black Lives Matter activists, calling for justice for the three men shot, as well as Rittenhouse supporters — among them Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a St. Louis couple who pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home last year.
ABC News’ Bill Hutchinson and Whitney Lloyd contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 764,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
Just 68.9% of Americans ages 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest headlines:
-Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization
-21 states see at least 10% jump in daily cases
-US sees increase in pediatric cases for 2nd week in a row
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 16, 2:10 pm
Pfizer asks FDA for COVID-19 pill authorization
Pfizer has asked the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its COVID-19 pill, the company announced in a press release Tuesday.
Both Merck and Pfizer are working on pills that appear very effective at keeping patients out of the hospital, according to the companies.
The Merck medication could be FDA authorized, recommended and available by the end of the year. The FDA’s advisory committee is slated to discuss the Merck application on Nov. 30.
Authorization for Pfizer is not expected until early next year.
ABC News’ Sony Salzman
Nov 16, 1:59 pm
21 states see at least 10% jump in daily cases
The U.S. daily case average has surged to more than 80,000 — a 27% jump in three weeks, according to federal data.
Over the last two weeks, 21 states have seen at least a 10% uptick in daily cases: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.
Last week marked the first national increase in total hospitalizations in nearly 10 weeks, according to federal data. There are now more than 48,000 patients with COVID-19 currently receiving care, up by about 3,000 patients from a week ago.
Twelve states (and Washington, D.C.) have seen an increase of 10% or more in hospital admissions over the last week: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.
ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Nov 16, 12:01 pm
DC to lift indoor mask mandate on Monday
Washington, D.C., will lift its indoor mask mandate on Monday.
“Instead of following a blanket mandate, residents, visitors, and workers will be advised to follow risk-based guidance from DC Health that accounts for current health metrics and a person’s vaccination status,” Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office said in a statement
Private businesses can still require masks.
Masks will still be required in places including public transportation, schools, childcare facilities and nursing homes.
ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson
Nov 16, 11:36 am
Times Square reopening to vaccinated revelers for New Year’s Eve
Times Square is reopening this New Year’s Eve after being closed last year due to the pandemic.
Revelers must bring proof of full vaccination and a photo ID.
“This has been a heroic city fighting through COVID. We are turning the corner. We’ve got a lot to celebrate. It’s going to be a big moment in Times Square on New Years Eve,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said, ABC New York station WABC-TV reported.
(NEW YORK) — Over 1 foot of rain pummeled the Pacific Northwest in five days, bringing rivers into major flood stages and flooding roads and neighborhoods.
In Whatcom County, Washington, in the northwest part of the state along the Canadian border, about 500 people were displaced Monday due to flooding, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said.
In Bellingham, in Whatcom County, the flooding and mudslides closed Interstate 5 overnight.
Flooding also shuttered Highway 5 in British Columbia, with one official calling the conditions “a disaster waiting to happen.”
High winds — with gusts up to 77 mph — toppled trees and knocked out power. An 18-wheeler was nearly knocked off a bridge.
Tuesday morning, the rain and snow showers will begin to taper off, with conditions improving by the afternoon. But major river flooding will still be an ongoing threat, and a flood watch remains in effect through Tuesday afternoon in parts of western Washington.
Three rivers are in major flood stage: Bogachiel, Nooksack and Skagit. The Skagit River in Mount Vernon is expected to rise to a crest of 37.6 feet by Tuesday afternoon, topping the 1990 record crest of 37.4 feet.
A winter weather advisory is also in effect; over 1 foot of snow possible in the highest elevations — above 1,500 feet — in western Washington.
Although nearly the entire western U.S. is in a drought, western Washington is the only area that is drought-free. Seattle has seen rain every day this month and parts of western Washington have received 40 inches of rain in the last 30 days.
The Pacific Northwest will dry out over the next few days, before more rain arrives later this week.
(NEW YORK) — Julius Jones has spent the past 20 years fighting for his life on death row, but on Friday a federal appeals court rejected his final appeal.
As of now, Jones will be executed this week on his scheduled execution date of Nov. 18 unless the Oklahoma governor decides to grant him clemency.
In September, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended commuting Jones’ sentence to life in prison with the possibility of parole to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
The decision still remains with Stitt, who said in September in a news release that he was waiting to make a decision based on the clemency hearing.
“I am not accepting the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation to commute the sentence of Julius Jones because a clemency hearing, not a commutation hearing, is the appropriate venue for our state to consider death row cases,” Stitt said in a Sept. 28 press release.
On Nov. 1, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted to recommend clemency for Jones in a 3-1 favor. As of Tuesday, Stitt hasn’t publicly announced a decision.
“Nightline” spoke to Jones’ family in September. Jones’ mother, Madeline Davis-Jones, said the parole board’s decision instilled renewed hope for her son’s survival and called the news “magical.”
“I’m still in shock, because it’s not over, you know? We still have so much ground [to] cover,” Jones’ sister, Antoinette Jones, said. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but it was a good feeling.”
Antoinette Jones said her brother was calm when he heard the parole board’s recommendation, as he knows work still has to be done to secure his freedom.
“He said, ‘I’m good. I’ll be even better when I get out and I can hug y’all and we can start helping change the world,'” Antoinette Jones said. “It was a relief. I could breathe a little bit easier.”
Jones’ sister remains hopeful that he will be freed, and said she can picture justice for her brother.
“Julius being able to feel the sun on his skin, the natural sun on his skin. It looks like him having no chains [on] when he gets to go outside,” she said. “It looks like freedom.”
Julius Jones was 19 years old when he was arrested for the 1999 murder of Oklahoma businessman Paul Howell, and sentenced to death in 2002. What followed were decades of public scrutiny and relentless work from his legal team.
“We think Julius was wrongfully convicted and that Oklahoma is at risk of executing an innocent man,” Jones’ attorney, Amanda Bass, said.
Now 41 years old, Jones has spent most of his life behind bars. Even after so many years, his sister and mother have yet to give up hope.
Before he was in prison, friends and teachers knew Jones as a champion high school basketball player who attended the University of Oklahoma on an academic scholarship.
That all changed in 1999 when Howell, 45, was shot in his family’s driveway after a car-jacking in the wealthy suburb of Edmond, Oklahoma.
Howell’s GMC Suburban went missing and his sister, Megan Tobey, was the only eye-witness.
“Megan Tobey described the shooter as a young black man wearing a red bandana, a white shirt, and a stocking cap or skullcap. She was not able to identify the shooter’s face because it was covered,” Bass told ABC News in 2018.
Two days after Howell was killed, police found his Suburban parked in a grocery store parking lot. They learned later that a man named Ladell King had been offering to sell the car.
King named Chris Jordan and Julius Jones to investigators and said the two men had asked him to help them sell the stolen Suburban.
“Ladell was interviewed by the lead detectives in this case. He told the police that on the night of the crime, a guy named Chris Jordan comes to his apartment. A few minutes later, according to Ladell King, Julius Jones drives up,” attorney Dale Baich told ABC News in 2018.
King accused Jordan of being the driver and claimed that he and Jones were looking for Suburbans to steal, but it was Jones who shot Howell.
“Both Ladell King and Christopher Jordan were directing police’s attention to the home of Julius Jones’ parents as a place that would have incriminating items of evidence,” Bass said.
Investigators found a gun wrapped in a red bandana in the crawl space of Jones’ family home. The next day, Jones was arrested for capital murder.
Jones’ attorneys say the evidence police found could have been planned by Jordan. They say Jordan had stayed at Jones’ house the night after the murder, but Jordan denied those claims during the trial.
In the years since, Jones’ defense team has argued that racial bias and missteps from his then public-defense team played a role.
Jones’ team has submitted files to the parole board that they said proved his innocence, including affidavits and taped video interviews with inmates who had served time in prison with Jordan. They said they allegedly heard Jordan confess to Howell’s murder.
In a statement to ABC News, Jordan’s attorney, Billy Bock, said that “Chris Jordan maintains his position that his role in the death of Paul Howell was as an accomplice to Julius Jones. Mr. Jordan testified truthfully in the jury trial of Mr. Jones and denies ‘confessing’ to anyone.”
Jordan served 15 years in prison before he was released.
In 2020, Jones’ story was thrown back into the spotlight when unlikely legal ally Kim Kardashian drew public attention to his case. Kardashian, who is studying to take California’s bar exam, has been vocal on the issue of the death penalty and prison reform and has campaigned to free a number of men and women who were incarcerated.
“Kim Kardashian, I felt like maybe one of my sorority sisters … she was down to earth,” Davis-Jones said.
Antoinette Jones said Kardashian put in the effort to help her brother.
“She sat down and she broke down my brother’s case. That means that she actually did the work,” Jones said. “She did the work to go back and check certain things, to point out certain things.”
“The fact that she told me that she was able to go see my brother, it was almost like she took a piece of him and brought it to us and then we could feel like he was there with us,” Jones added.
But despite all the efforts, Julius Jones’ execution date is still in place.
His family said they have to just wait to see if Stitt will agree with the parole board’s recommendation and commute Jones’ November death sentence. Three members of the Pardon and Parole board were appointed by the governor, a fact that gives Davis-Jones some hope.
“I’d like for [Stitt] to do the right thing, because the truth will set you free,” Davis-Jones said. “But most of all, being in leadership, I know sometimes it’s hard … to make decisions, [but] you have to try to make the right decisions.”
(LARIMER COUNTY, Colo.) — A small fire has sparked mandatory evacuations in a popular Colorado ski resort town as wind gusts threaten to fan the flames.
The Kruger Fire broke out Tuesday morning near Kruger Rock in Larimer County, just outside Estes Park, a mountain town with about 6,000 residents, fire officials said. The fire had reached 20 acres before 9 a.m., according to the Estes Valley Fire Protection District.
Red flag warnings have been issued throughout Colorado over high wind gusts topping 40 mph. Videos posted to social media show the fire crowning, indicating the possibility that it could spread quickly.
Last year, Estes Park was wedged between the two largest fires in state history– the East Troublesome Fire and the Cameron Peak Fire — but a snowstorm in October 2020 halted the fires in their tracks.
The neighborhoods of Little Valley Drive, Hermit Park and Uplands of Fish Creek Road were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday morning.
Additional information was not immediately available.
ABC News’ Jeffrey Cook contributed to this report.
