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Baker Mayfield fighting to get inmate removed from death row

Baker Mayfield has joined a group of prominent athletes looking to get an Oklahoma inmate removed from death row.

Last week, Baker Mayfield made headlines when he revealed he planned to kneel during the national anthem in order to call attention to police brutality and racial injustices in the United States.

Now, the Cleveland Browns quarterback is doing more than just a silent protest.

As detailed by ESPN's Royce Young on Monday, Mayfield is one of several athletes to have joined a fight to get an Oklahoma inmate who says he was wrongfully convicted removed from death row. The inmate, Julius Jones, was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002 following the shooting of a 45-year-old man, Paul Howell, in 1999.

Jones, who is now up for an execution date that could take place this fall, has maintained his innocence. Both his arrest and trial included accusations of racism, which Mayfield -- who spent his college career at Oklahoma -- drew attention in his letter to the governor's office.

"Beyond the obvious shortcomings of the trial, another issue that continues to weigh on me is the obvious racial bias that permeated Julius' arrest, prosecution, and conviction," Mayfield wrote in his letter.

"Every American is supposed to be guaranteed a fair and impartial trial. But when your arresting officer calls you the 'N-word,' when a juror calls you the 'N-word' and when all of this unfolds in the context of decades of death penalty convictions slanted against black men, it is impossible to conclude that Julius received fair and impartial treatment."

In addition to Mayfield, former Oklahoma star basketball players including Blake Griffin, Buddy Hield and Trae Young have joined Jones' fight for clemency, as has former Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook and Kim Kardashian West. Thanks in part to the prominent names joining the cause, a petition calling for Jones' release has garnered more than 5.7 million signatures.

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