Global Courant 2023-05-05 23:30:28
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday blocked Oklahoma from executing death row inmate Richard Glossip. the attorney general of the state agreed that Glossip’s life should be spared.
Glossip was scheduled to be put to death on May 18, despite statements by new Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond that Glossip did not receive a fair trial.
An Oklahoma appeals court subsequently upheld Glossip’s conviction, and the state’s parole and parole board stalled in a vote to grant him clemency.
The Supreme Court has stayed the execution while it reviews the case. Judge Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the case, presumably because he previously handled it as an appellate judge.
Drummond, a Republican, supported a stay of glossip by the high court, telling the judges: “Glossip’s process was unfair and unreliable.”
But Drummond has also said he does not believe Glossip is innocent of the 1997 contract killing of Glossip’s former boss, Barry Van Treese. Another man, Justin Sneed, admitted to robbing and killing Van Treese after Glossip promised to kill him. pay. $10,000. Sneed received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony and was a star witness against Glossip.
Two investigations have revealed issues with the prosecution’s case against Glossip.
Drummond said Sneed had lied on the stand about his psychiatric condition and his reason for taking the mood-stabilizing drug lithium.
Other problems include destruction of evidence, Drummond said.
Glossip’s case has been before the Supreme Court. He was previously granted a reprieve in 2015, though the court later ruled 5 to 4 in a case involving the drugs used in lethal executions.
