♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, time running out. 20 years on death row. with so many calling it injustice, the execution date now looms. >> oklahoma is at risk of executing an innocent man. >> the parole board voting in his favor. will the governor give him a reprieve? how his family says he's benefiting from a big-name celebrity. >> kim kardashian visiting your brother, what was that like for you and for him? >> i'm not going to let that -- that touched my heart. plus, america strong. burger and fries and a side of vaccine? >> you can get vaccinated right here. >> how one businesswoman is getting the shots where they're needed. >> a lot of the people were not being serviced.

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thanks for joining us. julius jones and his many

suppo supporters, including kim kardashian, say he's an innocent man. but after two decades on death row, they have less than two months to convince oklahoma's governor to commute listen tense. two months before jones could end up paying the ultimate price. >> it was just an ordinary night. i really didn't have any idea how my life could change. >> reporter: here on death row, time has moved slowly for nearly 20 years. but now as julius jones inches closer to a november 18th execution date, each precious minute is slipping away. >> we think julius was wrongfully convicted. and that oklahoma is at risk of executing an innocent man. >> reporter: julius was 19 when he was arrested and later sentenced to death for a murder many believe he didn't commit. but now he's never been closer to freedom. after decades of public scrutiny, relentless work from his legal team, and an unlikely celebrity ally.

kim kardashian visiting your brother. what was that like for you and for him? >> i'm not going to lie, that touched my heart. >> reporter: just last week, the oklahoma pardon and parole board voting 3-1 to commute listen tense to life in prison with the possibility of parole. julius' mother and sister, his fiercest allies, know his fate now lies in the hands of the oklahoma governor. what was your reaction when the board voted in the way that it did? >> just magical. i don't know, i can't explain. it was a good feeling. >> after so many setbacks? >> lord, yes. >> what was julius' reaction? >> he said, i'm okay, i'm good. i'll be even better when i get out and i can hug y'all. it's not over. you know, we still have much ground to cover. but it was a relief. >> reporter: back in 1999, prison seemed like an unlikely place to find julius jones. he was a champion high school basketball player. >> sophomore julius jones! >> reporter: loved by his

teachers, a star student. >> julius attended the university of oklahoma. on academic scholarship, as well. which was big-time. >> reporter: but all that changed on a summer night more than 20 years ago. gunshots ring out in a quiet neighborhood in edmond, oklahoma, a wealthy suburb of oklahoma city. >> 911. >> my son's been shot in the front yard. he got no pulse. >> reporter: 45-year-old paul howell gunned down in his family's driveway, the victim of a carjacking. his gmc suburban a hot commodity for car thieves. >> the victim's sister was the only eyewitness. >> 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. >> two days after the howell murder, the police stumbled upon the suburban parked at a grocery

store. >> reporter: the store was just blocks away from a chop shop where police learned a young man by the name of liddle king had offered to sell a suburban. >> you mention ladell king, i think car thefts. he was involved in car thefts all around the metro area. >> 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. >> reporter: chris jordan and julius jones were high school acquaintan acquaintances. chris, a suspected gang member. julius, a college student who had recently been in trouble of his own. >> my first year of school, got into shoplifting. i stole pagers, i stole things i could sell. >> reporter: ladell king says the two young men came to see him, asking for help on how to

sell a stole be suburban. but he said the high-profile murder made it too risky to sell the car for parts. king, a potential suspect himself, points the finger at julius jones. >> he had a red bandana around his neck. he had a stocking cap on. >> reporter: king accuses chris jordan of being the driver. jordan was taken into custody ask charged with felony murder, claiming he and julius were looking for suburbans to steal but says it was julius who pulled the trigger. >> ladell king and christopher jordan were directing the police's attention to the home of julius jones' parents as a place that would have incriminating items of evidence. >> reporter: and they found them, a gun wrapped in a red bandana tucked inside an upstairs crawl space. but his attorneys say the evidence police found could have been planted by jordan the night after the murder. chris jordan denied this claim during trial the d. the day after the evidence was found, julius jones was arrested

for capital murder. >> when i went to open the door up, man, there's cops all on the front porch with their guns out. >> reporter: in 2018, julius' story would become the focus of the abc docuseries "the last defense" which examined the case and shed do you waubt on the ve. at trial his defense team failed to include julius' alibi. he said he was at home having dinner with his parents and sister. none were called to the stand to testify. and the only witness says the killer's hair stuck out an inch from underneath the cap. >> unfortunately, his defense team never submitted a photograph of a week prior -- of julius jones. we actually have a photo of him the week before, then immediately after arrest. his hair was incredibly short. >> chris jordan, meanwhile, wore his hair in corn rows. it stuck out at the sides. >> reporter: his daughters also point out the jury was not made aware of the fact that ladell king was facing felony charges in an unrelated case, until

after his damaging testimony against julius. >> ladell king was facing a minimum of 20 years on a check fraud matter, because he had three strikes. >> it was dismissed entirely. >> reporter: chris jordan served 15 years and is now a free man. >> so they had every motive and incentive to lie. and the jury didn't get to hear all of that evidence. >> reporter: julius' defense team submitted files to the parole board which they argue proves his innocence, including affidavits and taped video interviews with those who served time in prison with chris jordan, who say they heard him confess to the murder. >> i just remember us having the conversation that he admitted that he the one basically got the murder charge, you know, did the killing, and it wasn't this guy. >> reporter: another inmate was quoted as saying, i overheard a conversation between mr. jordan and a man that went by the name of smoke. mr. jordan was bragging to smoke

about how he was the actual person who shot the victim in his case. >> that was like a gut punch. like it took some air out of me just to actually hear that and then hear another inmate say the similar thing. it was like, why wasn't this brought up? you know? >> reporter: in a statement, chris jordan's attorneys saying that 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. the public outpouring and renewed scrutiny in the case also helped by the attention of an unlikely legal ally. kim kardashian visiting your brother. what was that like for you and for him? >> that, i'm not going to lie that touched my heart. >> kim kardashian. i felt like -- like was maybe

one of my sorority sisters or someone. she was down to earth, i felt comfortable around her. then i could see the mother in her. >> what really took away her celebrity was when she sat down and she broke down my brother's case. that means that she actually did the work. >> reporter: julius' future depends on oklahoma's governor, kevin stitt. if he agrees with the board's recommendation, julius' sentence would commute to life in prison with the possibility of parole. but his execution date still looms, set for november 18th of this year. the governor of oklahoma, if he were sitting right here, madeline, what would you say to him? >> i'd like for him to do the right thing. because the truth will set you free. but most of all, being in leadership, i know sometimes it's hard to make decisions, and

you have to try to make the right decisions. >> what does justice for julius look like? >> it looks like julius being able to feel the sun on his skin. it looks like him have nothing chains when he gets to go outside. it looks like freedom. >> up next, would you like a vaccine with that big mac? one woman's creative way of getting more shots into arms. friday on "nightline," juju chang's exclusive interview with south korea's president, and the mega-famous band bts. >> you're watching "nightline"!

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the fda tonight thosing pfizer booster shots for those 65 and older, and younger americans with underlying health issues. but the push to get those who haven't gotten even one shot yet getting a boost from a businesswoman in chicago, making her pitch for "america strong." here's "nightline's" ashan singh. >> you can come in and join in, we're making available information about the covid shot. >> reporter: it's the polarizing issue today that some embrace. >> thank you, this is a good idea. >> no problem. >> reporter: and others quickly dismiss. >> we're here to 8:00 today. >> reporter: but these community outreach workers are relentless. >> have you got the vaccination? >> reporter: approaching every car, commuter -- >> pass it on to your loved ones. >> reporter: and customer near this mcdonald's in the south side of chicago, hoping someone

will opt for a dose of pfizer or johnson & johnson along with their big mac. it's an unconventional site to get a shot. but owner and operator yolanda travis mack says there isn't a better place than her parking lot to connect with those in her underserved community. >> we have three, four busloads. we have a school close by. we have a senior citizens home on the main street. >> reporter: a couple of months ago, yolanda had an idea to turn two of her mcdonald's franchises into vaccination sites with the goal of getting 100 people vaccinated. >> the city of chicago and the news kept reporting that in my community, a lot of the people were not being serviced. i said, i think i need to do something. >> you're not a doctor, you're not a nurse. you're not the government. what does it say about this country that you're able to help provide this service? >> that's what we do. i mean, you look at the people who are in the military.

when 9/11 happened, people stepped up. hurricanes, people step up. i'm a part of that step-up crowd. >> reporter: you lawn deis just one of many americans who want to help get shots in arms. from sporting events like this vaccination site at a wrestling match in kentucky, to popups at churches, this group of southeast asian volunteers in greensboro, north carolina, working to reach refugees and immigrants hindered by language barrier and lack of resources. >> hi, dr. fauci. >> reporter: social media campaigns on tiktok targeted to gen-z garnering millions of views. each effort focusing on those who still haven't gotten the shot. do you feel like by setting these up, you're able to reach a whole different group of people? >> i don't think it's a whole different group of people. it's the same people. but having the availability by that beacon of light that they are familiar with, by the mcdonald's, i think that's how the traction came even more

better. >> reporter: about an hour into yolanda's fourth vaccine event, a small but promising line begins to form. yolanda says the key is conversation. not confrontation. >> let me put it this way. it continued to try to make it comfortable for them to want to take the shot. not just, "you need to take why aren't you taking the shot?" come on, let's sit down, let's have a conversation. i know you're in the drive-thru, but can we continue this conversation? >> reporter: to maximize outreach, yolanda takes a multi-pronged approach. hanging banners. stuffing flyers in orders. alerting customers at the counter. did and in the drive-thru. about upcoming events. >> we provide incentives that meet the community where they are. gift cards. things they can utilize for back to school. we also provide a free meal. >> have you been vaccinated? >> no, actually, i went today around my house and the nurse practitioner wasn't there. >> well, it's your lucky day! >> reporter: the pitch worked on

doreen smith. she stopped by the mcdonald's with her granddaughter after leaving church in the neighborhood. >> i hear music, let's go see. and thus find out, they're giving vaccinations. and i wanted to get my first dosage today. so everything kind of fell in line. >> reporter: she was one of the many in this community hesitant to get the vaccine. >> i wanted to do more research to find out which vaccine was best for me. and also because i'm just -- i'm afraid of needles. basically. >> reporter: as the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread across the country, officials are now calling the resurgence the pandemic of the unvaccinated. nearly 80 million people still have not received the vaccine. while more than 65% of adults in the u.s. are fully vaccinated, rates have leveled off since labor day. many of the newly vaccinated at yolanda's event, one as young as

13, nervous but grateful. >> congratulations, yay! >> i actually feel pretty good. very scared in the beginning. one down and one to go. >> seeing this helps a lot. >> helps a whole lot. >> it's been an exciting day. we had all the community show up today. the most important thing that they told me today is that they were so happy that i had it available in the community. >> reporter: doreen got her first dose and even recruited her partner to do the same. >> so since i was cleaning the church and he was at softball practice, i called him and told him to come down here before 8:00. so he came in the next two minutes. >> very good, yeah. i'm glad that i've taken the initiative to get it done. you know. still have to be around friends and family. >> reporter: by the end of the day, yolanda's team gave out 33

shots. they've now inoculated 92 people since they started the campaign. >> so 100 was my.i' lonr intere. i'm interested in vaccinating the whole world. >> reporter: yolanda's dedication and love for her community is unwavering. whether it's a big mac or a vax, her passion is to serve. >> this is a city of almost 3 million. does it feel like a drop in the bucket? >> you've got to start somewhere. you start somewhere and you build on that. so we're still building. >> our thanks to ashan. up next, remembering a beloved actor best known for his role in "sex and the city." brusng only reaches 25% of your mouth. listerine® cleans virtually 100%. helping to prevent gum disease and bad breath. never settle for 25%.

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♪ willie garson may best be remembered as a character he first played back in the '90s. >> luckily, my friend -- >> carrie bradshaw's best guy

friend, stanford blatche, in "sex and the city." the biggest role in his life was dad to son, nathan, whom he adopted in 2010. garson was a longtime advocate of adoption. his son nathan posting, "i love you so much, papa, rest in peace, and i'm so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much, i'm so proud of you." he was just 57. rest in peace. that's "nightline." you can watch all our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time tomorrow. thanks for staying up with us. good night, america.