(The Center Square) - Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that a death row inmate should have his death sentence vacated and receive a new trial.
Drummond asked the Court to review the case of Richard Glossip, who was convicted in the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese.
The state's star witness, the man who confessed to killing Van Treese, gave false testimony during Glossip's trial, Drummond said. Justin Sneed, who received a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his testimony, testified he was prescribed lithium for a cold, but it was for a psychiatric condition, according to previous motions filed by Drummond.
Glossip was initially charged with accessory to murder but was convicted of first-degree murder after Sneed's testimony.
"With this information, plus [the co-worker’s] history of drug addiction, the State believes that a qualified defense attorney likely could have attacked … [the co-worker’s] ability to properly recall key facts at the second trial and provide a viable alternative theory of the case that did not involve Glossip,” the brief said. “At the very least, there is a reasonable probability that evidence casting doubt on a centerpiece of the State’s theory would have been enough to persuade a juror to reject the death penalty.”
This would not be Glossip's first retrial. His initial conviction was overturned, but he was convicted and sentenced to death again in 2004. Glossip has served on death row for 25 years.
Drummond asked the Oklahoma Criminal Court of Appeals to vacate the sentence but was denied in April.
“The OCCA’s decision cannot be reconciled with this Court’s precedents, the record in this case, or bedrock principles,” Drummond said in his brief.
Glossip asked for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board but was denied. He was scheduled to die on May 18, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay of execution May 5.
Drummond told the parole board that "more likely than not, he's guilty of murder."
"But I do not believe the evidence present that he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and that's my concern," Drummond said.
via Oklahoma's Center Square News