TULSA, Okla. — An Oklahoma death row inmate may avoid execution for a fourth time after his defense team filed a petition containing new evidence in his case.
The petition, filed on July 1, is the defense team’s last chance to prove what they believe is Richard Glossip's innocence.
Glossip has been on death row for more than 2 decades after a jury convicted him in a murder for hire plot in 1997. Prosecutors argued Glossip paid Justin Sneed to beat his boss, Berry Van Treese to death.
Glossip, who has maintained his innocence, sits on death row awaiting his execution date for a fourth time. But his legal team, more than 30 state lawmakers and two dozen lawyers working pro-bono on his case, say a new 340 page report could get him off death row for good.
“This was not some kind of bizarre murder for hire plot like the prosecution presented,” Don Knight said.
Knight has been Glossip's attorney since 2015. Glossip has been scheduled to be executed three times but it continues to be delayed for a variety of reasons.
In 2015, Knight and his defense team say they found new witnesses and evidence proving his innocence. It convinced two judges on the court of criminal appeals, who voted for a hearing, but it wasn’t enough to convince the majority. That’s when the state scheduled Glossip's third execution date.
“He survived that execution because of the wrong drug purchased by the state of Oklahoma and then the long moratorium began.”
During that moratorium, Knight and his defense team got to work dedicating more than 5,000 hours of pro bono time to try and prove Glossip's innocence.
Knight gathered several new witnesses and sent the new evidence to any lawmakers who would listen. It caught the attention of several including representative Kevin McDugle.
In an attempt to get closer to the truth he and a few other legislators called for an independent investigation by a law firm in houston.
“They weren’t for the prosecutor and they weren’t for the defense and I think that’s what helped them really get down to the bottom of this. They were able to put together an outstanding document,” rep. McDugle said.
The investigation led to a lengthy 340-page report with new evidence Knight says proves Glossip's innocence.
“If all of the evidence had been presented to a jury, no reasonable juror would have convicted Richard Glossip in this case.”
According to McDugle, the report finds that interview tapes show detectives leading suspects to give answers that he says fits the prosecutor's narrative. They also say Justine Sneed was given a plea deal for pointing the finger at glossip. It also mentions that the DA’s office threw-out a box of evidence that could have exonerated Glossip before his second trial.
“Richard Glossip has now been behind bars because of the gross misconduct of the DA’s office and the investigation,” rep. McDugle said.
While Glossip's Clemency hearing is set for August 10, Knight and his team are still waiting to see if their petition will lead to a court hearing.
“Anyone who reads that report would come to the same conclusion that this is a terrible case and killing this man without looking at evidence would be a terrible injustice,” Knight said.
2 News has reached out to the Oklahoma Attorney General's office four times in the last week to get their reaction to the latest report, but we haven’t heard back.
Knight tells 2 News the AG’s office has acknowledged the evidence and advised the court of appeals to not rule until it is reviewed. For now, Glossip is set to die September 22.
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