Oklahoma Attorney General seeks to overturn conviction of inmate sentenced to death penalty

Richard Glossip is a man sentenced to death after being accused of murder in 1997, but since the date was set for his execution due to a procedure, it was stopped and nine years have passed since then. Now, Oklahoma’s attorney general has joined the inmate in trying to overturn his death penalty conviction.

With the support of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, inmate Richard Glossip’s arguments will be heard again by Supreme Court justices.

The Associated Press (AP) news agency explained that the court’s review of Glossip’s case occurs in a context of declining use of the death penalty and a reduction in new death sentences in recent years. .

Prosecutors acknowledge that they, or perhaps their predecessors, made serious mistakes that led to the imposition of death sentences. With this context, prosecutor Drummond asked that Glossip have a new trial.

“All of these cases tell the public that the death penalty system, as it is currently used, cannot be trusted to have a fair and equitable outcome,” Robin Maher, executive director of the Center for Information on Death, told the AP. the Death Penalty.

The prisoner has always said he is not guilty

Richard Glossip has always claimed not to be guilty in the 1997 Oklahoma City murder of his former boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese. Although prosecutors have alleged it was a murder-for-hire plot.

Another man, Justin Sneed, admitted to robbing and killing Van Treese, but testified that he only did so after Glossip promised to pay him $10,000. Sneed received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony and was the key witness against Glossip.

He did not receive a fair trial, said attorney general

Drummond has said he does not believe Glossip is innocent, but maintains he did not receive a fair trial. Among the attorney general’s concerns is that prosecutors knew that Sneed lied on the witness stand about his psychiatric condition and his reason for taking lithium, a mood-stabilizing drug.

Prosecutor Drummond has also subpoenaed a box of evidence in the case that was destroyed, including motel receipts, a shower curtain and duct tape that Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, said could have potentially proven his client’s innocence.

“Oklahoma’s top law enforcement official has said that Richard Glossip did not receive a fair trial,” said Attorney Knight. “As far as I know, that is unprecedented.”

9 years ago they stopped the execution

At the Supreme Court, Glossip has attorneys Paul Clement and Seth Waxman on its side, who argue that he deserves a new trial.

In 2015, Glossip was in a cell next to the execution chamber waiting for time while he ate his last meal, before being tied to a stretcher and injected with drugs for his execution.

But, prison officials were scrambling after learning that one of the lethal drugs they were given to carry out the procedure did not match execution protocols and so it was stopped at the last minute.

With information from AP

Keep reading:

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• Marcellus Williams was executed in Missouri by lethal injection