Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, who played football at the University of Oklahoma, teared up speaking about the case at a press conference Wednesday.

Those who spoke out against Jones’ possible execution included celebrities Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington and Mandy Patinkin. Supporters gathered near the governor’s mansion this week, including students who walked out of class at Oklahoma City high schools. Support for Jones had ramped up with the impending execution date. This means that Jones, who has already spent nearly 20 years in prison, will spend the rest of his life in jail barring unforeseen developments in his case. “We still have to get his freedom.” The sentence for Jones, whose case has gained the support of anti-death penalty activists and numerous celebrities, will be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to Stitt’s executive order. “We were overjoyed,” Jones’ sister Antoinette Jones told CNN. “When you think about how close we came to the finish line, it’s unbelievable.” “Yesterday was an amazing feeling,” Jimmy Lawson, Julius Jones’ lifelong best friend told reporters. The announcement of clemency for Jones provoked jubilation at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, where the death row prisoner’s supporters had awaited the governor’s decision. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, granted clemency to death row inmate Julius Jones Thursday only hours before he was scheduled to be executed for a crime he insists he did not commit.

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