Supreme Court Overturns Cause Celebre Richard Glossip’s Conviction After 27 Years on Death Row, Nine Execution Dates, and Three Last Meals

The Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for Richard Glossip who was put on death row for allegedly plotting to kill the owner of an Oklahoma motel he managed.Scotus has blocked his execution twice before as doubt about Glossip’s guilt has swirled for decades. In its 5-3 decision Tuesday, the Justices said he may have been convicted based on false testimony from employee Justin Sneed, who claimed that Glossip instructed him to carry out a hit on their employer, Barry Van Treese.The motel manager was originally convicted in 1998 of commissioning the murder even though all parties agreed that Glossip himself didn’t commit the physical murder. Sneed pleaded guilty to beating Van Treese to death. The dispute at hand revolves around Sneed’s testimony, in which, as part of his plea deal to avoid the death penalty, he said that Glossip had offered him money to commit the murder. Doubt was cast over Sneed’s testimony after he admitted to being high on methamphetamines at the time of the 1997 murder. He’s currently serving life in prison for beating Van Treese to death with a baseball bat. He is also alleged to have lied about receiving psychiatric treatment when he testified against Glossip — a fact only known to prosecutors at the time of trial.Justice Sonia Sotomayor pointed to this fact in the Court’s decision as the basis for overturning the conviction.The State then discovered additional documents showing that Sneed had been “diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed lithium, contradicting his trial testimony,” she wrote in the decision. “The attorney general determined that [Prosecutor Connie] Smothermon had knowingly elicited false testimony from Sneed and failed to correct it.”The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the decision finding Glossip guilty of first-degree murder and remanded the case for another trial in 2001, finding that the evidence at trial had been “extremely weak” — but in 2004, Glossip was again sentenced to death after a jury trial. He has since received nine execution dates, eaten three “last meals,” and endured years of legal proceedings — including a previous case before the Supreme Court in 2015, Glossip v. Gross, in which the justices held that lethal injection using a sedative called midazolam wasn’t cruel and unusual punishment.Glossip will remain housed at Oklahoma State Penitentiary until a decision comes from state officials whether to retry him.“I do not believe Richard Glossip is innocent,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond of Oklahoma said at a press conference on Tuesday, before conceding that it might be difficult to hold new court proceedings after so many years.Glossip’s wife, Lea, said in a text message to reporters at the Associated Press that they learned of the news while speaking over the phone.“Rich and I opened the decision together on the phone this morning, knowing it would be a life-changing moment,” Mrs. Glossip said.“To say that we are overcome with emotion is an understatement. We are deeply grateful. Today is truly an answered prayer.”

Supreme Court Overturns Cause Celebre Richard Glossip’s Conviction After 27 Years on Death Row, Nine Execution Dates, and Three Last Meals

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