Court halts execution of Oklahoma man who says he was framed
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The execution of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Eugene Glossip, scheduled for today at 3 p.m., has been halted by the state's Court of Criminal Appeals after his lawyers submitted new evidence to support his claim that he was framed.
The court rescheduled his execution for Sept. 30.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin says she will respect whatever decision the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals makes as it reviews evidence, and Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who'd argued that Glossip's execution should take place Wednesday, said he's confident the appeals court will not find any new evidence worthy of overturning Glossip's death sentence.
Glossip's attorneys asked the court late Tuesday to stop his lethal injection, saying they uncovered new details in the case, including a signed affidavit from an inmate who served time with Justin Sneed, who was also convicted of the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, and is serving a life sentence.
"We're asking for a stay of execution to give the court more time to review this new evidence, which we think casts grave doubt on Richard's guilt," said Mark Henricksen, one of Glossip's attorneys.
The court says it granted the temporary stay "due to Glossip's last-minute filing and in order for this court to give fair consideration" to his claims.
Glossip, 52, was convicted of ordering the beating death of Van Treese, who owned the motel where Glossip worked.
Sneed was the prosecution's key witness and testified that Glossip masterminded the killing because he was afraid Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the motel.
Sneed was sentenced to life in prison in exchange for his testimony. A fellow inmate, Michael Scott, said in an affidavit that he heard Sneed say "he set Richard Glossip up, and that Richard Glossip didn't do anything."
Glossip maintained his innocence Tuesday in a brief telephone interview with The Associated Press and said he remained optimistic his lethal injection would be halted.
"I'll hope for the best. I won't let it bring me down, " Glossip said. "If you've got to go out... you don't want to be bitter and angry about it."
Glossip's case has drawn attention from death penalty opponents, and his family and supporters rallied Tuesday at the Oklahoma Capitol. They asked Republican Gov. Mary Fallin to issue a 60-day stay to give Glossip's attorneys more time to investigate new leads. The governor said in a statement Wednesday that she remains convinced of Glossip's guilt, and that "after carefully reviewing the facts of this case multiple times" she had no plans to issue a stay.
Then the court stepped in to stay the execution.
Among Glossip's supporters is Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who played a nun in the movie "Dead Man Walking." The woman Sarandon portrayed, anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean, serves as Glossip's spiritual adviser.