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Tags: richard glossip | supreme court | oklahoma | death penalty

US Supreme Court Hears Okla. Man's Death Row Appeal

US Supreme Court Hears Okla. Man's Death Row Appeal
(Larry French / Getty Images for MoveOn.org)

Tuesday, 08 October 2024 10:21 PM EDT

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in the high-profile case of an Oklahoma man whose conviction and death sentence sparked pleas for clemency from Pope Francis and Hollywood stars.

Richard Glossip, 61, was convicted – twice – for the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, an Oklahoma City motel owner, and sentenced to death.

At the Supreme Court, Glossip has high-powered attorneys on his side, including two former solicitors general, Paul Clement and Seth Waxman, who are arguing he deserves a new trial, The Associated Press reported. An independent attorney appointed by the Supreme Court to defend the Oklahoma court ruling will argue that Glossip should be put to death.

More than a half-dozen states also have weighed in on the case, asking the Supreme Court to uphold Glossip's conviction, arguing that they have a "substantial interest" in federal-court respect for state-court decisions. A decision is expected by early next summer.

Execution dates have been scheduled nine times and Glossip has eaten three "last meals."

Glossip's first conviction, in 1998, was overturned because of ineffective counsel, but he was tried again in 2004 and found guilty.

Since then, his case has been subject to an extraordinary series of twists and turns.

Republican Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond – generally an ardent supporter of the death penalty – is among those seeking a new trial for Glossip.

Citing "grave prosecutorial misconduct" and a star witness who lied on the stand, Drummond asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals last year to vacate Glossip's conviction.

The court refused and Glossip was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on May 18, 2023.

The Supreme Court stayed his execution, however, following an appeal by Drummond and Glossip's attorneys and agreed in January to hear the case.

David Cole, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, noted the unusual nature of the proceedings.

"It's a remarkable case in which both the defense and the prosecution believe this man should not be executed and yet they have to come to the Supreme Court to seek that relief," Cole said.

"And the Supreme Court has had to appoint counsel to argue that he should be executed – notwithstanding the desires of the person who prosecuted him and the individual who stands to lose his life."

Glossip has steadfastly maintained his innocence in the murder of Van Treese, owner of the Best Budget Inn. Glossip, who managed the motel, was found guilty of hiring another motel employee, maintenance man Justin Sneed, to carry out the murder.

Sneed, who was 19 at the time, confessed to bludgeoning Van Treese to death with a baseball bat but escaped a death sentence with his testimony that Glossip masterminded the plot and paid him to carry out the murder.

Glossip was convicted solely on the testimony of Sneed. An independent investigation commissioned by Drummond found that Sneed lied on the stand and that prosecutors had "knowingly elicited his false testimony" while covering up evidence of his mental illness.

Actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon and British billionaire Richard Branson have been among the celebrities advocating for Glossip's life to be spared.

In 2015, when Glossip's execution appeared imminent, the representative for Pope Francis in the United States sent a letter on behalf of the pontiff to then-Gov. Mary Fallin asking that the execution be called off.

Glossip's case has also been the subject of a four-episode documentary titled "Killing Richard Glossip."

There have been three executions in Oklahoma this year and a total of 19 in the U.S.

© AFP 2025

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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in the high-profile case of an Oklahoma man whose conviction and death sentence sparked pleas for clemency from Pope Francis and Hollywood stars.
richard glossip, supreme court, oklahoma, death penalty
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2024-21-08
Tuesday, 08 October 2024 10:21 PM
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