♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, clemency granted. in the execution of jiuuls nejos, halted hours before he swa scheduled to die. >> we connutie to fight foris h total freedom. >> the high-profil meurder case tracting nationa alttention and celebtyri support. we'rwie th his filamy as h is li ifes arsped. >> it' as blessgin to be able to hear his voice and tono kw that he wil sltill be alive. plusat wer woes. the realos ct of crulimbng infrasuctrture. >> is the water athi tsch sool fesa for students to drink? >> no, it is not. >> the cyit in msiisssippiad bly need of feradel help. >> the biggest investment in frastrucretu in a negeration. >>ut b will it be enough?

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befo hree was scheduled to be put to death. here's "nightline" coahoncr juju chang. >> julius jones! juli jusones! juusli jones! >> reporr:te cries of triumph and relief inkl oahoma and acro tsshe count tryoday. >> clemency. ethov gernor just granted clemen. cy >>ep rorter: jtus four hours fobere hisch seduled g iuess executn,io julsiu jones is sparedft aer nrleay 20 years on ath row. publican governor kev sintitt mmutgin listen tseen toif le in psorin witho tut he poibssility ofar pole. >> s iay yeah! >> yeah! >> repteorr: outsi tdehe ispron, julius' sisrte aointnette rejoicg.in bu stpeakingit wh my colleague marcusoo mre about the emoontial llto. h>>ave you dha a chance to spea wkith lijuus? >> yes. so hisir fst wordser we "i love you." it a's blessingo tbe aebl to ar his vceoi and to knowha tt he wlil still be ale.iv 'sit a lighter feeling.

a>>ndor f ito t come down most to the 1h1t hour, this decionsi, whato d you make of ?it >> that waser vy hurtl.fu i feltt iwas very cruel. but aiagn, we are stillra gteful that the goverrno granted him feli. and that he stepped in when he did. >> his ltas meal was 009: p.m. last ghnit. wasro bught out of hisel cl at 3:00 a.m. this morningo t ve a physical conducted on him to make sure that he was healthy enough to be ecuxeted. >> reporter: julsiu was 19 when he was arrested and later ntenced to death for the murder of paul howell, ari cme many believe he didn't commit. >> we thinkul jius was wronulgfly conctvied and that oklahoma is at risk of executing iannnocent n.ma r>>eporter:he t case for years the subject of teinnse debate. >> commutitaon is recoenmmded. >> repteorr: the oklahoma pardon dan pareol brdoa voted twice to coutmme juusli' sentence to life

in prison with the possibility of parole. >> put simply, i have doubts about this case. i cannot ignore those doubts, especially when the sketas are life and death. >> living forhe t last 36ay ds deathat wch has been physical dan pchsyological torture and rror. >> reporr:te pasrto keith joolss hathd e difficult task of miadnisterinlag st rites inside e execution chamber. >>od tay is aay d ofel cebraonti for this transition. while we continue to fight for his total freedom. >> reporter: for more than two decades, julius jones has maintained his noincence. >> i wasn't involdve in it in any way, i wasn't present, i didn't even know he had been kiedll till aftethr e fact. >> rorepter: earerli this year i spokeit wh julius' mother and sist aers tyhe pinned thr ei pes on t hegovernor 's desicion. the goverrno of okholama. if he were sitti rngight here, madeli, newhat wou yldou say to him? >> most of all, being in

leaderipsh, i know sometesim it's hartod make decisions. and you have to try to make the righ tdecision. what does justice for julius look like? >> it looks like julius being ableo tfeel theun s on his skin. it looks like him hinavg no chains when he gets to go outside. it looks like freem.do r>>eporter:he t public tpououring and renewedcr sutiny in the case helped inar pt by the abc docusersie "the last fedense" from executive producer viola davis. eth support of higprh-ofile athletes like steph curry and baker mayfield and kim rdashian. kim kaasrdhian visitgin your brheotr, whawat s tt halike for you,nd a for him? >> tha--t i'm not going to lie, at touched my heart. i ftel comfortable around r. and then i could see the motr he in her. >> rorepter: on instagram, kaasrdhian writing,'m i so grefatul to everyeon who used eithr voicend a heldpe to save

julius' leif today. >> free julius jones! >> rorepter: leangdi up to the decisi,on a groundswell of suorpptnd a outrage as theou hrs cktied onward. >> it's very impateriveha tt we meet whit the governor. >> rorepter: julius'am fily suourrnded by suppoerrts attempngti to meet whit governor is it multieplim tes only to be turn aedway. hurendds oftu sdents in oklahoma th wiseek mcharing off their school campuses in support of julius. i'm wniarng you to leavehe t area! >> reporr:te erovnight, a prott esoutside the goveorrn's mansion. we had conrvseativesik le cp,ac we had libera,ls we had publicans and decrmoats. we showed that when it is a case of stjuice, that there really e no bounridaes. >> repteorr: paul hollwe's familyas hai mntained that lius jones is guilty. at thear pdon and parole board hearin hg,is dghauterac rhel aring her pain. en in this videoro fm "the oklamahon." i am heer toar wn u,yo he is not innocent. what if this was your family

meermb that was mdeurred? r>>eporr:te in a stetament datoy, rheacl idsa, it cfoomrts me ttha theov gernor recniogzes lius jones' guilt and has rudle anxe ecutive oerrd for him toev ner be eligible for commutioatn, pardon, or parole rfo the remainder ohif s life. ckba in 19,99 prison seemed like liunkelyla pce to find julsiu jones. he was aha cmpion hi sghchool basketball player. s>>ophoremo julius nejos! >> reporr:te loved by his teache,rs a star studen t. >>ul jiustt aended the iversityf ooklahoman o acemadic scholsharip as we.ll which was big-ti.me >>ep rorter:ut b all that changed on a summer night more an 20 years ago. nsguhots ring out in a quiet neigorhbhoodn iedmo, nd okholama. 911. >> my son has beenho st out in the front yard hse'ot g no pulse. howell gunned town in his aul - family's driveway t,he victim of carjkiacng. his gmc subbaurn aot h commodity

for car thies.ve t>>he victim s'steisr was the lyon eyewitns.es m>>egan tobey descredib the shoorte as a young black man arweing a red baannda, a white irt, and a stocking cap or ulsklcap. she wasot n aebl to ideifnty the shooter's fac beecause iwat s coved.re >>wo t days aerft the howell murder, the police stulembdpo un theub surban parked at a grocery ore. >> reporr:te the sto wreas just blocks away from a chop shop where poceli learn aed young man by the name ofad lell kingad h feofred to sell a suburb. an you mtienonad lell king, i ink, car thefts. he wasnv iolved i cnar thesft lal ouarnd the metro area. >> ladell was intvierewed by the lead dettiecves in ts hicase. he told eth poleic that on the ghnit of the crime, a guy named richs jordan comes to his aparentmt. faew mutines lar,te according to leladl ki,ng julsiu jeson

drives up. >> reporte cr:hris jordan and lius joneser weig hh school acquaianntces. ris was a speuscted gang member. lijuus a cleolge student who had recently bnee inom se trouble of shi n.ow m>>y fstir yrea of schl,oo got into shoifplting. i stole pagers. i stolehi tngs i could sell. r>>eporter: ladell king said the twoen m came to see him, kingor f help how to sell a stol ensurbbuan. t he ssay the high-prilofe murder made it too risky to slel eth caror f parts. king, a pottienal suspect himself, points the finger at julius nejos. >> he dha a red bdaanna arndou s neck. he had a scktoingap c on. >>ep rorter: kgin also accesus richs jordaofn bngei the driver. jordan was taken into custody and charged with felony murd,er aiclngmi he and juliu wsere out loinokg forub surbans to salte t says witas jiuuls who pull tedhe trigger. >> both ladl elking and chriopsther jordan were redicting picole aentttion to eth home of julsiu jones'

paresnt as a pcela that wldou havenc iriminating items of idevence. >> reporr:te and they found em. a gun wrapped in a red bdaanna tucked inside an upaistrs crawl ace. but his aorttneys sayhe t evidceen policeou fnd could have been pntlaed by jordan the night after the murder. chris jdaorn deniedhi tsla cim duri tngrial theay d aerft the evidenceas w found. juliuson jes was aesrrted for capitamul rder. at trial, his defseen team iled to include lijuus' alibi. he sd aihe w aast heomav hing dinner with his parents and sister. noneer we caedll to e thstand to ifsty. s lyeawrs aols pntoiut o that theur jy was not mead aware of the fact thatad lell kingas w faci fngelonyha crges in an reunlated ceas untilft aer his dagimang testinymo against juli.us >> ladell ki wngas facgin a minimum of 20 years on a check aufrd maertt, becausee hhad three stris.ke i>>t was dismseisd tienrely. >> rorepter: and chris jordan served 1 y5ears and is now a free ma n.

>>o s ty hehadve ery motive and ceinntive t olie. and a jyurid dn't get toea hr lal of that evidence. >>ep rorter: jiuuls' defen se te samubmitted files to e th palero board wchhi they aregu ovpres his noincence, iluncding fidavitsnd a tapedid veo inrvteiews with inmate wsho served time whit chris jdaorn d who say they heardim h confess ttohe murder. >> it was just -- i just remeermb usav hing a convsaertion tha hte aitdmted that hehe t oneas bically got the murrde archge, you know, did the killg,in and it wastn' this guy. >> reporr:te in a stematent, chris rdjoan's attneory sinayg at jordan maiaintns his potision thatis h role in the dehatf o paul howell was as an accompli tceo julius jones. .or jdan testified truthfully tinheur jy trial of mr. jon es anded nies conssfeing to aonnye. in oklahoma tonit,gh for the rst timen i 22 years,om se lireef for juliu fs'riends a nd falymi who say for julius, justice is still a work in

progre.ss >> we keepre pssing forward and ghfiting. it's still not over. you know, it's the beginning. >> to eryvebody that is liensting, tha ynkou. ur voiceat mtered. >>ur o thanks to juju. up next,he t school in miissssippi badly in need of lphe for itsru cmbled frinastructu.re ♪ ♪why do y bouuild me up (build me up)♪ butter... cup... baby... up wou blde the operative word the preal. , ohyeah, ye.ah sorry, he ava good d!ay yifou ride,ou yet g it. - come oinn ! oh wowwe, 're real blyacked up geo icmotorcycle. fiftn eeminutes could sa ve you fieeftn percenort more. geo icmotorcycle. i don't just plasoy meone br ainy on -tv i'm aanctual ne uroscienstti. and i lo tvehe scien cebehind neuri pvalus. unkeli ordinarmey mory ppsulemes,nt neura ivplus fue slsix key diincators obrf ain perfmaornce.

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♪ ♪ tequila herradura. extraordinary awaits. ♪ residents of jackson, mississippi, are hoping some of the new trillion-dollar infrastructure measure will trickle down to them and years

of problems with their water supply. here's abe's rachel scott. >> good morning, darling. good morning. good morning. >> reporter: it's arrival time at wilkins elementary school in jackson, mississippi. >> pull your mask up, let's keep you safe. >> reporter: principal cheryl brown greets hundreds of students pouring into classrooms. >> good morning. >> reporter: a smile behind the mask. >> this school has my entire heart. our children are hard working, our teachers are dedicated. we go above and beyond every single day. >> reporter: the teachers and students go above and beyond, but there are challenges beyond their control. is the water at this school safe for students to drink? >> no, it is not. there's no water pressure. the water's not being properly sanitized. it's not clean. our boys and girls know they don't touch it. we provide bottled water. >> reporter: the city's crumbling water infrastructure responsible for the burden these students live with. that low water pressure has also made the restrooms in the building virtually unusable.

at least three times a day, students and teachers line up and walk outside to these portable toilets and sinks. >> i look at our younger students. all they know in a school is a school where they have had to go outside to port-a-pottys. that's degrading. it's inhumane on all levels. >> how do you keep the students so hopeful in the midst of all of these challenges? >> the teachers do that. every single day they encourage the students, they build them up. >> on your marks, get set, and go. >> reporter: amy stewart has been teaching here for four years. she's watched that journey to and from the restroom take away precious learning time. >> group one, let's go, restroom. once you leave my classroom and walk towards the outside restroom, it's between 20, 25 minutes. and that has taken away from the teaching time. but we're doing the best we can. >> we talk about equity all the time. there is nothing equitable about my boys and girls having to

transition and go outside every single day to relieve themselves. what we want here in jackson is what everybody wants across the nation. we want what's best for our boys and girls. >> reporter: what's happening in jackson is happening all around the country. from water pipes to bridges to broadband. infrastructure in desperate need of repair. >> my message to the american people is this. america's moving again. and your life is going to change for the better. >> reporter: the recently passed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill allocates $55 billion for water improvements. $110 billion for roads and bridges. $65 billion for internet. with the president on the road recently touting the bill -- >> we're going to make the most significant investment to modernize our roads and our bridges in 70 years. >> reporter: vice president kamala harris speaking exclusively to abc news. >> we are dealing with the issues that matter to the

american people. some of the stuff you'll see in the next few months, some of this you're going to see in the next perhaps couple of years. but it's about fixing the problems. >> reporter: people back in jackson, from the mayor -- >> we want our equitable share of those resources. >> reporter: to concerned parents -- >> i pray and hope that some of the funding will make it to south jackson. >> reporter: are wondering if and when any of the money will come trickling down to them. >> just start allocating the funds. that's what we need. >> reporter: in jackson, one-quarter of the population lives below the poverty line. it's estimated that it would cost $2 billion to fix the city's water infrastructure. >> water is neither democrat nor republican. this serves as a cycle of humiliation where people are humiliated by their inability to have a basic resource like water. >> reporter: the struggles with water follow children from school to home. >> okay, getting ready for school. we have to use bottled water to

wash our face with. >> reporter: alexis foster's fourth grade son kingston attends wilkins elementary. >> he'll come home beating the door down because he doesn't want to use the bathroom at school. >> reporter: when there's no water pressure, not even portable restrooms work so students are forced to learn remotely. >> the school is still without water so we're doing virtual from home today. >> reporter: michael regan, administrator of the environmental protection agency, recently visited the school as part of an environmental justice tour. >> how are y'all doing? >> good! >> oh, man. they let you all stay behind? i understand y'all have some easy questions for us today. >> reporter: kingston was one of four students chosen to meet with regan. >> i don't like it because it takes a lot of learning time through our day, and it has an unbless sep unpleasant scent. >> reporter: the day the epa administrator arrived, the

school actually had to close because of water problems. >> far too often we think about water infrastructure from drinking water to wastewater to storm water. but it's really about our children. >> reporter: the mayor of jackson was there for the epa's visit. he estimates that $459 million from the federal infrastructure bill will end up in mississippi to address water improvements. nowhere near the $2 billion he needs. will it be enough? >> it will not be. i can answer that very easily. however, it is a start. and we're appreciative of any resources. >> what keeps you going? >> god. my faith keeps me going. if i was a wealthy woman, i would fix this infrastructure myself. because they deserve it. it's a bare necessity. they are the cream of the crop, because they are are this water crisis does not define them. >> our thanks to rachel.

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finally tonight, 55 years after the verdict, two of the men found guilty in the murder of malcolm x have been exonerated. 83-year-old mohammad aziz and khalil islam, who died in 2009, both served decades in prison. the manhattan d.a. apologized on behalf of law enforcement. the judge threw out their convictions, the courtroom erupted in applause. [ applause ] that's "nightline." you can watch all of our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here at the same time tomorrow. good night.