Tag: Richard Glossip

New trial for Richard Glossip


Death row inmate of 27 years to receive new trial

June 2025

Richard Glossip has been on death row in Oklahoma for 27 years and has been on the verge of execution nine times. His case went to the Supreme Court who found that a key witness had lied and that prosecutors had withheld information. The decision was vacated and Oklahoma’s Attorney General, Gentner Drummond, has ordered a new trial which is promised to be fair. He made clear however that he was not proclaiming his innocence.

The case illustrates a problem with the justice system if evidence which may cast a different light on a case is withheld by the police or prosecutors particularly evidence which is exculpatory. No one would pretend the UK system of justice is perfect but the system of discovery which demands that the defence team has access to relevant evidence before the trial, has been a key development in recent years. Too often in US trials by contrast, lack of this information or candour by the prosecutors has been a factor.

Richard Glossip (pictured, theintercept.com) may by now have been executed. At one planned execution it was discovered that the lethal drugs to be used did not match execution protocols which led to a suspension of executions in the state for seven years.

Glossip’s case is a clear example why capital punishment should not be used by a state. Simply put, mistakes cannot be rectified. Amnesty is against capital punishment in all circumstances. The US is the only state on the American continent to retain it. There is little evidence that it is effective. It brutalises the state. It is incredibly expensive. And as has been shown in the Glossip case, if false evidence was used to secure a conviction, then the mistake cannot be put right. In the USA around 130 people on death row have been found to be innocent since 1973. The country joins some reprehensible regimes such as China, Iran, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia which use the penalty against huge numbers of its citizens – in the case of China an unknown number since it is a state secret but it is believed to be thousands.

Sources: Death Penalty Information Center; NBC News; The Attorney General’s office; AP News; The Oklahoman.

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Richard Glossip case: latest


US Supreme Court rules that prosecutors violated ethical responsibilities

February 2025

The case of Richard Glossip in Oklahoma raises a number of interesting issues concerning the death penalty in the USA and in this case, the state of Oklahoma. In a 5-3 decision in Glossip v. Oklahoma issued on 25 February, the Supreme Court judges ruled that the prosecutors had ‘violated their duty to correct false testimony’. The prosecutors had also ‘suppressed material evidence concerning their star witness, Justin Sneed’ who actually committed the murder.

The case involved the murder in 1997 of Barry van Treese the owner of a motel. Sneed confessed to the killing and agreed a plea bargain claiming that Glossip had instructed him to carry out the murder. This saved him from execution. There are a number of factors which has made this a case attracting international attention.

There was very little corroboration evidence apart from the testimony of Sneed. Sneed’s mental state was not revealed to the defence (defense) team, nor was his untrustworthiness or that he had lied to the police. Glossip’s legal team has discovered that Sneed had discussed recanting his testimony before the original trial and since. This had not been revealed to them. Another not unusual factor is the doubtful quality of his defence counsel.

There is not doubt that Glossip has suffered much in the 27 years. He has had no less than nine execution dates and has eaten three ‘last meals’.

It is being said that this case will not have wider effects because so many elements are unusual. But it does highlight the problem of the death penalty. Had any one of the nine actually taken place, there would have been no chance of an appeal. If the criminal system has people willing to withhold evidence, then any chance of a fair trial is unlikely. It is also unwise to convict someone of the ultimate legal penalty without certainty which must mean at the very least, corroborative and trustworthy evidence. A defendant must also have first class attorneys to defend him. The testimony of an unreliable witness should be treated with great caution.

A new trial has been ordered.

Sources:

World Campaign Against the Death Penalty; BBC, The Hill.

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Monthly death penalty report


Monthly report for mid April – May

May 2023

We are pleased to attach the latest report thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. Note that although China appears briefly, it remains the country thought to execute more of its citizens than the rest of the world combined but details are a state secret.

April May report (Word)Download
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Richard Glossip’s execution stayed


The execution of Richard Glossip in Oklahoma has been stayed by the Supreme Court

May 2023

Richard Glossip has been on death row in Oklahoma, USA, for 25 years for a murder it seems likely he did not commit. He was accused of the murder of motel owner Barry van Treese in 1997. The conviction was largely based on the plea bargain struck by Justin Sneed, who has a history of mental illness, in a deal which saved his own life.

Two independent investigations have cast doubt on the veracity of the trial. First the only evidence seemed to be the plea bargain by Sneed who in fact admitted committing the murder. Further testimony by prison inmates was not given to the jury. The State withheld evidence and other evidence was either lost or destroyed by the DA’s office.

As Mr Glossip’s execution date of May 18th draws near, there has been a flurry of activity to get it delayed or vacated. On April 7th, the Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond – a pro death penalty Republican – asked the state Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate the conviction. He said “the only witness to allege Mr Glossip was involved in this case cannot be believed, it is unconscionable for the State to move forward with his execution“.

On April 20th, the Oklahoma Court upholds the conviction. On 26th April the Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency on 2-2 vote which meant the Governor, Kevin Stitt, was unable to do so either.

On May 5th, the Supreme Court of the United States stays the execution pending the disposition of two writs of certiorari. Should they be denied this stay will terminate automatically.

So that is the current position. The case reveals some troubling aspects of the legal system in this instance. Relying on plea bargain evidence should not be the sole justification for a conviction let alone an execution. The failure to present all the evidence to court is also questionable and the loss or destruction of other evidence is also to be deplored. The fundamental problem with the death penalty is that mistakes cannot ever be rectified once the deed is done.

We must hope that the intervention of the Supreme Court will lead to the state authorities to think again.

Sources: Death Penalty Information Centre; Wikipedia; New York Times, Save Richard Glossip Campaign

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Urgent Action: Richard Glossip, Oklahoma


No to the death penalty

UPDATE: 8 October.  Richard Glossip has been given an indefinite stay of execution (Oklahoma)

We attach an urgent action on behalf of Richard Glossip with whom visitors to this site will be familiar with.  He has won a temporary stay of execution.  His legal team has presented new evidence to the appeal court.  The evidence against him is weak as we have pointed out before and relies partly on a plea bargain by the man who committed the actual murder.  Oklahoma is a hard line state as far as the death penalty is concerned.

We hope you can find time to write. See also this month’s death penalty report.

Glossip Urgent Action

glossip

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Glossip execution deferred


Oklahoma

glossipRichard Glossip’s execution has been deferred by two weeks only hours before he was due to killed.  This was an urgent action by Amnesty International and members of our group have written to the Oklahoma authorities.  You can read the full report in the New York Times here.

There is no physical evidence linking Glossip to the scene and a major part of the evidence is a plea bargain by Sneed who admitted to the murder but escaped execution by implicating Glossip.

No to the death penaltyAmnesty is opposed to the death penalty and this case reveals one of the reasons: flimsy evidence combined with a plea bargain means the likelihood of a wrongful conviction leading to a man’s death with no prospect of putting it right in future if fresh evidence appears.

The group is holding a vigil against the death penalty on 17 October in Salisbury starting at 12.45.  Further details here and on Twitter soon.

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September minutes


The minutes of the September meeting are now available thanks to Lesley.  We discussed North Korea, the death penalty (see separate post on this), the forthcoming vigil on 17 October and agreeing to write to John Glen concerning his failure to reply to our letter of 5 August.

September minutes

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Urgent Action: #Oklahoma #USA #deathpenalty


No to the death penaltyWe attach an urgent action on behalf of a man called Glossip (52) who is due to be executed on 16th of this month.  The case against him is circumstantial and seems quite flimsy.  He has been on death row since 1998 – around 17 years.  If you can find time to write or email, that would be appreciated.  Full details are here: Case file (pdf)

There is also a web site the accuracy of which we cannot warrant:

Richard Glossip

See also USA death penalty site with further information and a petition  [You will find it on their Facebook page and there is a wealth of statistical information on the site as well.  There is a permanent link to the site at the bottom of this site]

Richard Glossip

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