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Updated 8.04pm
AN APPEALS COURT has halted the execution of an Oklahoma man with just hours to spare after his lawyers said they had uncovered new evidence, including a fellow inmate’s claim that he overheard another man convicted in the case admit he acted alone.
Richard Eugene Glossip was twice convicted of ordering the killing of Barry Van Treese, who owned the Oklahoma City motel where he worked.
A co-worker who testified against Glossip, Justin Sneed, admitted beating Van Treese with a baseball bat and was sentenced to life in prison.
Glossip (52) had been set for execution at 3pm today, but the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals agreed to delay his lethal injection just before noon.
Glossip’s lawyers said they obtained a signed affidavit from another inmate, Michael Scott, who claims he heard Sneed say “he set Richard Glossip up, and that Richard Glossip didn’t do anything”.
The court said it granted the last-minute request “in order for this court to give fair consideration” to Glossip’s claims. The court rescheduled his execution for 30 September.
Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, who has rejected calls to delay Glossip’s execution, said her office would respect “whatever decision the court makes”.
“As I have repeatedly said, court is the proper place for Richard Glossip and his legal team to argue the merits of his case,” Fallin said.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the Van Treese family who has suffered greatly during this long ordeal.
Glossip’s daughter, Ericka Glossip-Hodge, said she and several family members were on their way to McAlester prison when told of the court decision.
“Everybody is freaking out. We’re really excited,” Glossip-Hodge said. “We actually got off the road and pulled over.”
During Glossip’s trials, prosecutors alleged Glossip masterminded the killing because he was afraid Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the motel.
Two juries convicted Glossip and sentenced him to death. His execution would have been the first in Oklahoma since a sharply divided US Supreme Court upheld the state’s three-drug lethal injection formula in June.
Glossip’s case garnered international attention after Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who played a nun in the movie “Dead Man Walking”, took up his cause. The woman Sarandon portrayed in the movie, anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean, has served as Glossip’s spiritual adviser and frequently visited him in prison.
Yesterday Glossip maintained his innocence during a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press. He said he hoped his life would be spared, and that he remained optimistic.
“They’ll never take that from me,” Glossip told the AP.
I won’t let it bring me down. If you’ve got to go out … you don’t want to be bitter and angry about it.
Glossip’s new execution date is one week before the scheduled execution of Benjamin Cole. After the botched execution of inmate Clayton Lockett last spring, a state review committee recommended that at least a week pass between executions.
Originally published 9.56am
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Sky news dead man walking podcast covers this story.
The fact is there is no evidence; none to link glossip to the crime bar a statement from the actual murderer. Is that enough to kill someone ? I think not.
Apparently his original trial was also a mess. Defence team weren’t allowed access to certain evidence. etc. Also no forensic evidence linking him to the murder.
Sounds like another story for serial. Anyone know when the next series is out?
A lot of prisons in America are private for profit companies, the more in jail the more profit is made. The USA has the highest prison population in the world. The Corrections Corporation of America is the largest private prison company in the US and has grown in recent years. With over 60 facilities across the United States.
These people love crime and they hate parole and pardons.
The US Government Guarantees these companies a minimum amount of Inmates. It stinks of conflicts of interest and injustice all in the name of profit.
Think the next one is spring 2016
You’re absolutely right Joseph except that it’s not just a lot of prisons, it’s all. Our prison system here in the U.S. Is almost completely privatized. There is no justice here anymore, only profit. When I commented on an earlier article on this gentleman, I got a lot of red thumbs for stating that our justice system isn’t about justice. As long as someone is profiting from his incarceration, guilt or innocence doesn’t matter. And he is only one of way too many.
“I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don’t care if it’s by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions.”
- Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian
‘As a father’? I never realised the ability to procreate was a qualification for anything ? In fact given the amount of feral kids in society I’d imagine the ability to avoid procreating would be more of a qualification in some cases.
Listening to the undisclosed podcast at the moment.
An add to to serial.
Amazing stuff !!
Republican Mary against delay. Why when there is new evidence that might prove him innocent. You yanks just like killing. 11,000 a year murdered in U.S. And you paint the Middle East as uncivilised . When really all you want to do is decide who you want to buy oil from. USA is a greedy pressure cooker .
This is why I’m opposed to capital punishment – you can’t UNexecute someone if they are found to be innocent later, you can let them go and compensate them if they are given life without parole though, you can even give them a pardon at a political level if the courts ignore evidence of innocence because of technicality, can’t do any of that if they are dead.
I never understood the ”moral” arguments against it though – I’d have no problem executing someone I knew 1000% to be a serial killer, problem is you don’t know 1000%
I find it irritating only when people in Ireland argue for it here. Compared to much of the EU we are doing very well on serious crime. The US and their gun problems, race problems, drugs and lawlessness problems mean they have to resort to more severe sanctions, or so they say. They have no hesitation in executing mentally ill. I wouldn’t be aping the US on law or many other jurisdictions in the EU as is so often called for here. We manage with an unarmed police force, and managed it against a private army of sociopaths for years.
Death penalty, and even mandatory sentencing, are pretty much counterproductive as neither are a deterrent. Mandatory sentencing costs a fortune as it offers no reduction in sentencing and so nothing to do but launch appeal after appeal and no admission of guilt.
Were doing ok on crime levels overall but I would argue we deal with gangland crime terribly, and we let these gun toting psycopaths come up through the ranks over the years without invervention (when it’s clear from primary school how they’ll turn out and everyone can see it) suspended sentence after suspended sentence until they kill someone.
Then when they do that life does not even mean life, you can get out after 7 years. If anything, in murder, we are the opposite extreme of the US.
I watch US news shows like The Young Turks because it makes me feel better about Ireland, their country is in such a dire state that it makes us look like a paradise. We don’t have gun massacres, we don’t have psyco police gunning down unarmed people, we don’t have the racism or getthos (our minorities integrate very well). We had our say on capital punishment in 2001, and the public voted 60-40 against it, so that’s that.
America, Saudi Arabia, ISIS
They’re all cut from the same cloth
You obviously know little or nothing about Saudi Arabia or ISIS.
Jon. I don’t believe that neither Saudi or ISIS have the extensive appeals process that the US have. Do you think that someone sentenced to Death in a Saudi court would wait 18 years to he executed? Or would ISIS even hold a trial let alone multiple appeals?
I don’t find any value in moral p1ssing contests, prefer to just judge each thing on it’s own merits.
It can be wrong to execute someone for “apostosy” and wrong to execute an innocent person…that’s not a controversial thing to say. The problem comes when you start getting into “well the people i support are morally pure and never do anything wrong and them people over there are always wrong” I’m always amazed by the extreme left and right on the US as well, one thinks the sun shines out of their ass and they can do no wrong, one things they never ever EVER do right.
The real world is grey.
Correct Jon: Saudi Arabia are currently terrorising Yemen with the support of the United States, since March over 500 children have been killed by the bombing but the US appear to have no concerns about that, and why would we expect any different from the leading terrorist state in the world?
The US like Saudi Arabia prioritises power above lives, and while there are some constraints on what they can do domestically no such issues exist abroad, extrajudicial assassinations are prevalent and they unwaveringly support the two most extreme regimes in the region which constantly violate international law.
The apologists for Western terror should bear that in mind.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/08/children-bearing-brunt-war-yemen-unicef-150819101743630.html
It appears I know more than you
The comments and reply layout on this are appalling.
@setorius – I know ISIS is not a recognised government/country but Saudi Arabia is and I’m fairly certain they murder their citizens as well, for the good of the state of course. Do you think it’s only the U.S. That does this??
I’d rather keep a man in prison before take a chance of killing him illegally.
Sounds like a few people stepped up a few rungs on the ladder for this conviction and they don’t like to back down or say they are wrong. Sickening really.
yes, the greatest country in the world loves to judicially murder people even when there is a doubt
The moral argument aside, he’s already been there for 18 years and there is doubt. People often argue for the death penalty because of space in prisons and the cost of keeping these “lowlifes” in food and bed. He’s been there for 18 years. How is this helping that argument?
He got a stay of execution until September 30th.
Thanks for the update. I forget where I originally read about this case but there is a lot that doesn’t sit right.
Any chance Sarah Koenig could look into it?
Poor man.
He has been on Death Row for 18 years. And after numerous appeals through the courts suddenly and by some miracle “New Evidence” appears. This is just a stalling tactic by the defense team.
That happens all the time, in fact most of the time it happens after the person is already executed.
The real problem is that new evidence is rarely accepted in an appeal.Usually only showing that that there was an error in the way the prosecution handled or presented the original evidence will suffice although that does allow for presenting evidence not having the benefit of new technologies. Finding a new witness or a completely new piece of evidence rarely works.Personally I believe that everyone dies in the end and if you truly wanted to punish someone you’d make sure that they spend as long as possible in an 8×6 box until they pray for death to take them.
USA : Ban the death penalty once and for all.
The US Supreme Court determined that actual guilt or innocent is irrelevant. It’s about procedures and conformity with procedures, not substantive evidence.
adios lowlife, nice try.
I’d say if a story on the Journal was about a baby being murdered you would blame the baby. Have you ever been on the right side of anything??
As the name suggests, Fear Bán is just another angry ‘disenfranchised’ white man.
This man is totally innocent. Not an ounce of evidence against him. This is why the death penalty doesn’t work.
It amazes me how when the journal run stories on people that was wrongly convicted years ago and have now been proven innocent people say “oh the poor man,hope he sues,years of his life gone”!
This happens way too often now. With amazing people that volunteer for the innocents project and the hard work they go to to prove wrongful convictions time and time again. Nobody should support this barbaric state murder.
Killing is killing whether done for duty,profit or fun.
Not a screed of DNA to prove this man done it only the statement concocted by the actual murderer and a cop that is seen and heard on CCTV telling him him do it.
Fry him!
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