Richard Glossip to face new homicide trial however with out dying penalty in Oklahoma
Oklahoma’s prime prosecutor mentioned Monday that the state intends to pursue a brand new homicide trial in opposition to Richard Glossip however with out the dying penalty after the U.S. Supreme Court docket vacated his capital conviction in a uncommon victory for a dying row prisoner.
State Legal professional Basic Gentner Drummond’s determination to retry Glossip, 62, on a first-degree homicide cost got here out of a standing convention listening to. Drummond mentioned in a information launch that the proof nonetheless implicates Glossip within the 1997 homicide of Oklahoma Metropolis motel proprietor Barry Van Treese.
Glossip, a motel supervisor working for Van Treese, has maintained his innocence whereas on dying row for nearly three many years.
Whereas Drummond, a Republican, has not agreed with Glossip’s innocence claims, he was supportive of the Supreme Court docket’s ruling in February, when the vast majority of justices agreed, as Drummond put it, that “it’s now an indisputable fact that he didn’t obtain a good trial.”
Drummond mentioned Monday that he would guarantee Glossip now receives an neutral trial.
“Whereas it was clear to me and to the U.S. Supreme Court docket that Mr. Glossip didn’t obtain a good trial, I’ve by no means proclaimed his innocence,” Drummond mentioned in a press release. “After the excessive courtroom remanded the matter again to district courtroom, my workplace completely reviewed the deserves of the case in opposition to Richard Glossip and concluded that enough proof exists to safe a homicide conviction.”
Oklahoma County District Legal professional Vicki Behenna, a Democrat, had beforehand indicated that Glossip would not be eligible for the dying penalty now if he have been to be retried.
Drummond mentioned he would search a life sentence for Glossip at his subsequent trial.
“Whereas I can’t return 25 years and deal with the case within the correct manner that will have ensured true justice, I nonetheless have an obligation to hunt the justice that’s out there right now,” he added.
The continuation of the state’s prosecution in opposition to Glossip resumes a twisting case that noticed him dodge dying a number of instances with 9 separate execution dates that needed to be postponed. Numerous courts delayed the executions as he appealed, whereas state corrections officers additionally got here below scrutiny a decade in the past for botched execution makes an attempt.
However Glossip’s case had been championed lately by a bipartisan group of Oklahoma legislators after an impartial report they commissioned in 2022 discovered that “no affordable jury listening to the whole document would convict Glossip of first-degree homicide.”
The report centered on the state’s major witness, Justin Sneed, who had confirmed to the report’s investigators that he had discussions with a number of relations about “recanting” his testimony over an 11-year interval. Investigators additionally mentioned the district legal professional’s case file included documentation describing how the state offered Sneed info “so he might conform his testimony to match the proof” from different witnesses.
Glossip’s unique 1998 conviction was overturned in 2001, when a state appeals courtroom discovered that the proof in opposition to him was weak. However the state took him to trial once more, and a second jury discovered him responsible in 2004.
At Glossip’s trial, Sneed, a motel handyman, admitted that he had killed Van Treese, however mentioned that it was at Glossip’s course and that he had been promised $10,000. In alternate for testifying in opposition to Glossip, Sneed obtained a life sentence whereas Glossip was given the dying penalty.
Prosecutors mentioned Glossip orchestrated the plot as a result of he was embezzling from the motel and feared being fired.
The Supreme Court docket on Monday tossed out Glossip’s capital conviction in a 5-3 ruling. Justice Neil Gorsuch didn’t take part, presumably as a result of he was concerned within the case when he was on a federal appeals courtroom that features Oklahoma.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote within the majority’s ruling that prosecutors “knew Sneed’s statements have been false” and that “as a result of Sneed’s testimony was the one direct proof of Glossip’s guilt of capital homicide, the jury’s evaluation of Sneed’s credibility was essentially determinative right here.”
“Therefore, there’s a affordable chance that correcting Sneed’s testimony would have affected the judgment of the jury,” she added.
After the Supreme Court docket’s determination, Glossip was moved off dying row, however was held with out bail within the Oklahoma County Detention Heart on a first-degree homicide cost.
A subsequent courtroom date in Glossip’s case is scheduled for June 17.
Glossip’s legal professional, Don Knight, didn’t instantly remark in regards to the prosecutors’ determination, however he welcomed the Supreme Court docket’s ruling in February that spared his longtime consumer from the dying chamber.
“He had 9 execution dates, three final meals, and clearly, to lastly get reduction has been enormous for him,” Knight mentioned, “and he is thrilled past phrases.”