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Thursday, November 7, 2024

Supreme Court hears arguments in controversial Richard Glossip death penalty case

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Attorney General Gentner Drummond | Facebook Website

Attorney General Gentner Drummond appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States today for oral arguments in the case of Glossip v. Oklahoma. Representing the State of Oklahoma, Attorney Paul Clement argued that Richard Glossip's conviction should be vacated and remanded to district court due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

Clement informed the Supreme Court that prosecutors committed a Brady violation by not disclosing potentially exculpatory evidence and violated Napue by allowing false testimony, which he claims prevented Glossip from receiving a fair trial.

Richard Glossip has been on death row in Oklahoma for 26 years. He was charged as an accessory to murder in January 1997 following the killing of Barry Van Treese, his employer at an Oklahoma City motel. Justin Sneed, a co-worker, confessed to murdering Van Treese and testified against Glossip as part of a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. Sneed claimed Glossip paid him for the murder, resulting in Sneed receiving life imprisonment without parole while Glossip was sentenced to death.

In court, Sneed falsely stated he was not receiving treatment for mental health issues despite being prescribed lithium for a psychiatric condition. Evidence suggests prosecutors were aware of this falsehood but did not correct it.

"Attorney General Drummond did not confess error lightly," Clement stated during today's hearing. "Indeed, he continues to support capital cases but reached the conclusion that Brady and Napue obligated him to confess error."

Drummond emphasized the importance of fairness in capital punishment cases: "Oklahomans deserve to have absolute faith that the death penalty is administered fairly and with certainty," he said. "Considering everything we know about this case, justice is not served by executing a man based on the testimony of a compromised witness."

The case has been surrounded by doubt and controversy over time. Upon taking office as attorney general in 2023, Drummond discovered withheld materials crucial to Glossip’s defense and initiated an independent review that identified multiple errors casting doubt on his conviction.

Despite these findings and Drummond's motion filed with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) in April 2023 seeking to overturn Glossip's conviction, OCCA upheld both his conviction and sentence.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on this matter by June 2025.

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