Richard Glossip
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| Richard Glossip | |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Eugene Glossip February 9, 1963[1] |
| Criminal penalty | Execution by lethal injection |
| Conviction(s) | 1998, re-tried and re-convicted 2004: first-degree murder[1] |
| Killings | |
| Victims | Barry Van Treese |
Richard Glossip is an American man who was convicted of hiring to kill for the murder of Barry Van Treese in 1997, of which he was given the death penalty and is currently on death row at Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Glossip was convicted in two separate trials of hiring his co-worker, Justin Sneed, to kill their mutual boss, hotel owner Barry Van Treese, who was killed on January 7, 1997 at a hotel he owned at which Glossip was employed and Sneed received accommodation in return for maintenance duties.[2][3][4]
Glossip's execution is controversial in that he was convicted almost entirely on the testimony of Sneed, who confessed to bludgeoning Van Treese to death with a baseball bat by himself and who was spared a death sentence himself by implicating Glossip.[4][5]
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has rejected numerous calls for a 60-day stay of execution of Glossip, saying she has reviewed the case and is satisfied with the process and outcome.[3]
Glossip is also noted for being the plaintiff in Glossip v. Gross, a U.S. Supreme Court case decided in June 2015 in which a divided Court ruled 5-4 that midazolam may be used as a sedative in combination with other lethal injection drugs. The case was originally titled Warner v. Gross, but Glossip replaced Charles Frederick Warner as the plaintiff after Warner was executed in January 2015, also by Oklahoma, before the case was decided.
On September 16, Glossip was granted a 14-day stay of execution by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals just hours before his previously scheduled execution in order for the Court to consider new evidence in his case. On September 30, a stay was granted due to acquisition of a drug contrary to the execution protocol.
Contents
Timeline of recent events[edit]
- On October 13, 2014, the Attorney General said State the state did not have adequate supply of execution drugs, and delayed the execution of Glossip and two other inmates.
- On October 24, 2014 the Clemency board voted unanimously against clemency.
- On January 28, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court halted executions in Oklahoma until it decided on lethal injection drugs.[6]
- On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, it was reported that late in the previous day, Glossip's attorneys had asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals for a stay of execution, asking the Court to examine possible new evidence, just hours before the execution by lethal injection was set to take place, because an inmate who had served time with Sneed had given them a signed affidavit.[3][7][8] This stay was granted so the Court would have time to evaluate the new evidence.[2]
- On September 21, Oklahoma City Police released a 1999 police report showing that a box of evidence had been marked for destruction. The report was never provided to attorneys who represented Richard Glossip in his second trial or his appeals according to his new defense team.[9] In an interview published the same day Glossip's attorney Donald Knight criticised the previous attorneys, saying "They did a terrible job. Horrible. No preparation. No investigation."[10]
- On September 22, 2015, Glossip's attorneys filed papers referring to a July 1997 psychiatric evaluation of Sneed, in which he said he understood he was charged with murder in connection with a burglary and made no reference to Glossip's involvement.[11]
- On September 23, 2015, Glossip's attorneys filed papers complaining that two new witnesses were being intimidated. In affidavits, one witness had claimed that Sneed laughed about lying in court about Glossip’s involvement, another said he was convinced based on his conversations with Sneed that Sneed acted alone.[12] On September 24, 2015 the Oklahoma attorney general's office filed papers stating that the claims of the new witnesses were “inherently suspect”, and that the time it took Van Treese die and whether blood loss contributed to his death did not affect the trial outcome, in response to a defense claim that the testimony of Dr. Chai Choi, who performed the autopsy was incorrect.[13]
- On September 28, 2015, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals voted 3-2 to proceed with execution.[14][15][16] Presiding Judge Clancy Smith wrote "While finality of judgment is important, the state has no interest in executing an actually innocent man, An evidentiary hearing will give Glossip the chance to prove his allegations that Sneed has recanted, or demonstrate to the court that he cannot provide evidence that would exonerate him." Judge Arlene Johnson wrote that the original trial was "deeply flawed" and an evidentiary hearing should be ordered.[17]
- On September 30, 2015, Glossip spoke to the UK's Sky News on the telephone from his cell as he was being served his last meal. Glossip said that Sneed testified at trial that Glossip did not wear or own gloves, "And now he's on TV saying that I did. It continues to show the discrepancies in anything that Justin Sneed has to say."[18] On the same day, death penalty critic Richard Branson bought an advertisement in The Oklahoman newspaper which had advocated the execution, with Branson stating the evidence against Glossip is flawed and that "every person is deserving of a fair trial", adding, "Your state is about to execute a man whose guilt has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”[19] The United States Supreme Court denied a stay of execution, One judge, justice Breyer, said he would grant a stay.[20][21] Governor Mary Fallin stayed the execution after the Department of Corrections received potassium acetate instead of potassium chloride. Execution was reset for November 6, 2015.[22][23][24]
- On October 1, 2015, Attorney General Scott Pruitt asked the Court of Criminal Appeals to issue an indefinite stay of all scheduled executions in Oklahoma, citing the Department of Correction's acquisition of a drug contrary to protocol,[25] the next day, the request was granted.[26]
- On October 6, 2015, Governor Mary Fallin said she hired an independent attorney, Robert McCampbell, to advise her on the legal process.[27]
- On October 8, 2015, it was reported that Oklahoma Corrections Department officials used potassium acetate to execute Charles Frederick Warner on January 15, 2015, contrary to protocol.[28][29] An attorney representing Glossip and other Oklahoma death row inmates said logs from Warner's execution initialed by a prison staff member indicated the use of potassium chloride, however an autopsy report showed 12 vials of potassium acetate were used.[30]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Oklahoma Department of Corrections: Name Richard E Glossip ODOC# 267303".
- ^ a b "Appeals court grants Richard Glossip two week stay hours before execution". KFOR.com.
- ^ a b c Crimesider Staff (September 16, 2015). "Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip set to die for 1997 killing". Crimesider (CBS News). Retrieved September 16, 2015.
Richard Eugene Glossip's attorneys asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals late Tuesday to stop his lethal injection, saying they uncovered new details in the case, including a signed affidavit from an inmate who served time with Justin Sneed, who also was convicted of the killing and is serving a life sentence.
- ^ a b Connor, Tracy (2015). "Oklahoma's Richard Glossip is Nun's 7th 'Dead Man Walking'". Storyline > Lethal Injection (NBC News). Retrieved September 15, 2015.
Prejean, who runs the Ministry Against the Death Penalty out of Louisiana, traveled to Oklahoma to prepare for what was looking more inevitable as the hours passed, especially after Gov. Mary Fallin refused to delay his execution.
- ^ Eckholm, Erik (2015-09-11). "Oklahoma Inmate the Focus of Renewed Attention as Execution Date Nears". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
- ^ "Timeline of events in Richard Glossip's case". www.okcfox.com. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ^ "Court halts execution of Oklahoma man who claims innocence". msn.com.
- ^ Cross, Phil. "Inmate says murderer bragged about sending innocent man to death row". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ Cross, Phil. "New questions about destroyed evidence could put Glossip case back in federal court". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ "Talking to an Attorney for the Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Who Just Avoided Execution | VICE | United States". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ "Glossip's Lawyers File New Documents To Court". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ Cross, Phil. "Glossip attorneys file documents alleging the State is intimidating witnesses". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ "AG's office calls witnesses' claims 'inherently suspect'". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ http://nebula.wsimg.com/48fc4a0c3f9be318b011c88989d09b0d?AccessKeyId=5A52C512D331E7A75AB9&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
- ^ Cross, Phil. "Court denies Richard Glossip appeal, Wednesday execution to go forward". Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ^ "Divided Oklahoma Court Refuses To Halt Richard Glossip's Execution". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ^ Gitau, Beatrice. "Richard Glossip denied stay of execution: Will Supreme Court intervene?". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2015-09-29.
- ^ "Glossip In Last-Minute Appeal Over Execution". Retrieved 2015-09-30.
- ^ "Pope Francis and Sir Richard Branson appeal for Oklahoma inmate's life". The Guardian. September 30, 2015.
- ^ Ford, Matt. "Oklahoma Halts Execution of Richard Glossip". Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ "Oklahoma governor grants last-minute stay of execution to Richard Glossip". Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2015/09/30/us/oklahoma-richard-glossip-midazolam-execution/index.html
- ^ McCann, Erin. "Oklahoma governor stays execution of Richard Glossip amid drug concerns". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ Cole-frowe, Carol; Fernandez, Manny (2015-09-30). "Oklahoma Governor Grants Richard Glossip a Stay of Execution". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ Nuttle, Matthew. "AG Requests Indefinite Stay Of All Executions In Oklahoma". Retrieved 2015-10-01.
- ^ City, Associated Press in Oklahoma. "Oklahoma appeals court agrees to indefinitely halt state's executions". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-10-04.
- ^ "Oklahoma governor hires outside attorney amid Glossip execution drug inquiry". NewsOK.com (in en-US). https://plus.google.com/b/101290684830559652394. Retrieved 2015-10-07.
- ^ "Wrong drug used for January execution, state records show". NewsOK.com (in en-US). https://plus.google.com/b/101290684830559652394. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ^ "Latest: AG's letter contradicts inmates autopsy report :: WRAL.com". WRAL.com. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ^ "Latest: AG's Letter Contradicts Inmates Autopsy Report". ABC News. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
External links[edit]
- Oklahoma Department of Corrections - Death Row - Scheduled Executions (accessed September 16, 2015)
Doubters of guilt and opponents of death penalty[edit]
- Richard Glossip's Innocence Claim Draws Growing Attention [UPDATED" (Death Penalty Information Center)
- Website of Glossip supporter