- The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, who maintains his innocence despite multiple execution attempts by the state.
- Glossip was sentenced in 1997 for the commissioned murder of a motel owner where he worked.
- Arguments in the case are scheduled for the fall, and Glossip now has the backing of the state's attorney general, who believes he did not receive a fair trial.
The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear the appeal of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip. Glossip steadfastly maintains his innocence and has avoided multiple execution attempts by the state.
Glossip was convicted in 1997 of the murder-for-hire of the owner of the motel where he worked.
The case will not be argued until the fall.
Oklahoma court upholds Richard Glossip's murder conviction
Glossip now has the backing of the state's Republican attorney general, Gentner Drummond, who argues that Glossip's life should be spared because he did not receive a fair trial.
Anti-death penalty activists gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court on September 29, 2015 in Washington, D.C., to try to block the execution of Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip. The Supreme Court announced Monday that it will hear the appeal of Glossip, who maintains his innocence and has avoided multiple attempts by the state to execute him. (Larry French/Getty Images for MoveOn.org)
The Supreme Court blocked the latest effort to execute Glossip in early May.
Despite doubts about Drummond's trial, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals upheld Glossip's conviction, and the state Pardons and Parole Board stalled on whether to grant him clemency.
But Drummond also said he does not believe Glossip is innocent of the 1997 murder of his former boss, Barry Van Trees, whom he hired to kill. Another man, Justin Snead, admitted to the robbery and murder of Van Trees after Glossip promised to pay him. $10,000. Sneed received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony and became a key witness against Glossip.
Oklahoma death row inmate Richard refuses clemency ahead of ninth execution date
Two independent investigations have revealed problems with the prosecution's case.
Drummond said Sneed lied on the stand about his mental state and why he took the mood stabilizer lithium, and prosecutors knew he was lying.
Evidence was also destroyed, Drummond said.
Some Republican state lawmakers who support the death penalty have joined a growing chorus of Glossip supporters seeking to overturn his conviction.
Glossip's case has previously reached the Supreme Court. He was given a suspended sentence in 2015, but the court later ruled 5-4 against him in a case regarding the drugs used in the execution.
Mr. Glossip will be executed a third time in just a few hours. The last scheduled execution in September 2015 was halted just before he was led to the death chamber after prison staff realized he had received the wrong lethal drug. The mix-up resulted in a nearly seven-year moratorium on the death penalty in Oklahoma.
Glossip's case comes after Susan Sarandon, an Academy Award-winning actor who played the death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean in the 1995 film “Dead Man Walking,” has taken up her cause in real life. It attracted international attention. Prejean himself served as Glossip's spiritual advisor and frequently visited him in prison. His case was also featured in the 2017 documentary film Killing Richard Glossip.
Oklahoma intervenes to prevent death row inmate Richard Glossip's 9th execution date
It is highly unusual for a prosecutor to oppose the execution of a death row inmate. In similar circumstances to the Glossip case a year ago, the justices ordered the Texas Court of Appeals to reconsider a death row inmate case that also had the support of prosecutors. Inmate Areli Escobar was convicted and sentenced to death based on forensic evidence, which the judge later found to be flawed.
However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the judge's new trial order, even though newly elected prosecutors in Travis County, Texas no longer support the conviction. When Escobar appealed to the Supreme Court, prosecutors upheld his case. Mr. Escobar did not face imminent execution.
The Supreme Court will hear Glossip's case with just eight justices. Justice Neil Gorsuch is not participating, likely because he was involved in the early stages of the case when he was an appellate court judge.
The High Court had been considering Glossip's appeal since late September. It is unclear why the response was delayed.
