'Innocent' man on death row will still be executed despite 'no truthful witness'
After three last meals and failed execution attempts, a death row inmate could be set to face his fate once again despite a major campaign for his innocence.
The murder conviction handed down to Richard Glossip in Oklahoma, was upheld by an appeals court last week and he is now due to be executed on May 18.
The decision was made despite concerns by Oklahoma's Attorney General Gentner Drummond over some evidence and testimony.
Mr Drummond argued Sneed's testimony, which was used to convict Glossip, should be thrown out. The attorney general argued that there were "material misstatements" to the jury about Sneed's mental health and drug use.
However, a ruling written by Judge David Lewis said Glossip "has not provided this court with sufficient information that would convince this court to overturn the jury's determination that he is guilty of first-degree murder and should be sentenced to death".
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Judge Lewis said this was despite his case being "thoroughly investigate and reviewed" and the inmate being given "unprecedented access" to prosecutors' files.
Glossip was convicted in 1997 (Uncredited/AP/REX/Shutterstock)
Glossip married anti-death penalty activist Lea Rodger last year (Sky News)According to the court, Mr Drummond's concerns did not state Glossip is innocent, but that justice would not be served by executing him “based on the testimony of a compromised witness.”
The attorney general’s ‘concession’ does not directly provide statutory or legal grounds for relief in this case,” the ruling said.
Mr Drummond has also argued that there were other problems with the case including evidence being destroyed.
Glossip was jailed for the death of Barry Van Treese in 1997, who was killed by Justin Sneed. Glossip was convicted and slapped with the death penalty after he was found guilty of paying Sneed $10,000 to kill Mr Van Treese, who was the owner of a motel in Oklahoma City where he worked.
The campaign claiming Glossip's innocence goes back several years (Getty Images North America)The prosecution believed that his motive was that Mr Van Treese's death would mean his alleged embezzlement from the hotel could be covered up.
Sneed is serving life without the possibility of parole and he admitted robbing and beating Mr Van Treese to death and said he did so because Glossip asked him to.
Glossip's attorney Don Knight said: "Oklahoma’s elected Attorney General Gentner Drummond found, after conducting his own independent review, that the State’s star witness against Mr Glossip, Justin Sneed, was not a truthful witness. Without Sneed’s 'material misstatements' the outcome of Mr. Glossip’s trial would have been different."
Victim Barry Van Treese (Internet Unknown)"Since the State now agrees that the only witness to allege that Mr Glossip was involved in this crime cannot be believed, it is unconscionable for the court to attempt to force the State to move forward with his execution.
Mr Knight said his team will be "filing for review of this manifestly unjust ruling in the United States Supreme Court".
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Last year, Republican State Representative Kevin McDugle argued an extensive report by law firm Reed Smith was enough to show Glossip's innocence.
The reporter was rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeals in November last year.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who said Glossip's conviction should be thrown out (Sue Ogrocki/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Mr McDugle said: "We've got an individual sitting on death row that's been there 25 years and I believe he's totally innocent."
The Representative for Oklahoma's 12th district said that he believed in the death penalty, but that it would raise serious questions about Oklahoma's death row process if Glossip was executed.
Glossip's execution has been put back several times and he came close to being executed in 2015, but it was stopped when prison officials realised they had taken delivery of the wrong kind of drug.
After 25 years on death row for Glossip, Governor Kevin Stitt confirmed in November last year that the inmate's execution had been granted another reprieve.
It was Glossip's seventh reprieve and he has eaten three last meals. His team has filed a joint Motion for a Stay of Execution with the Court of Criminal Appeals seeking a delay of the scheduled execution until August 2024.
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