Why is Richard Glossip’s case being discussed across the nation? Learn about the twists, turns and controversies of the case against Richard Glossip.
Richard Glossip, who is he?
Richard Eugene Glossip is an American prisoner, born February 9, 1963. He was found guilty in 1997 of orchestrating the murder Barry Van Treese. Justin Sneed was the actual killer. He had a drug problem and agreed to testify in exchange for Glossip’s life without parole.
Glossip’s conviction attracted international attention because of the lack of substantive evidence against him. His initial case was deemed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to be “extremely thin”.
Glossip was named as the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case Glossip V. Gross from 2015. The court ruled that the three-drug protocol used for executions, involving potassium chloride, pancuronium, and midazolam did not violate the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
Glossip received three consecutive stays of execution in September and October 2015 due to concerns about Oklahoma’s lethal injectable drugs. It was because, during the execution of Charles Frederick Warner, on January 15, 2015. potassium acetate, instead of potassium chloride was used, which resulted in a violation of protocol. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has ordered a grand juries investigation into the execution drug mix up.
What happened to Richard Glossip
Richard Glossip has been spared multiple times from execution since his 1998 conviction for orchestrating the death of Barry Van Treese, his boss. The US Supreme Court stopped his execution on Friday, May 5, 2023. Glossip spent 26 years in prison, had nine execution dates, eaten three last meals and undergone two independent investigations which raised serious doubts regarding his conviction.
Two investigations raised serious doubts about the validity of Glossip’s conviction. Reed Smith, a law firm, said that an independent review revealed the destruction of evidence by the state before trial as well as an insufficient police investigation.
What did Richard Glossip do?
Richard Glossip, a manager at the Best Budget Inn in Oklahoma City, where Barry Van Treese was the owner, was found guilty of orchestrating Barry Van Treese’s murder in 1997. Glossip managed the Best Budget Inn, Oklahoma City where Van Treese owned the hotel. The prosecution claimed that Glossip hired Justin Sneed, a maintenance worker, to kill Van Treese for money.
Sneed initially was arrested for the murder, and he accused Glossip of being the mastermind. Glossip, who maintained his innocence during the trial, argued that Sneed falsely accused him to get a lesser sentence. Glossip was sentenced to die despite the fact that there were no physical signs linking him to the crime.
Glossip’s case received national attention because of concerns over the reliability of Sneed’s testimony, and the absence of physical evidence that linked Glossip with the murder. Susan Sarandon, the actress, and Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking”, have both spoken out to support Glossip.
Glossip was spared execution in 2015 just hours before it was due to take place, when it was discovered that Oklahoma had purchased the wrong lethal injection drug. Glossip’s legal team continues to fight for a fresh trial and raise awareness of what they believe is a wrongful verdict.
Richard Glossip Story
Richard Eugene Glossip, an American prisoner is currently in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on death row. In 1997, he had been convicted of ordering the murder of Barry Van Treese. Justin Sneed was 19 at the time he committed the murder of Van Treese and had “a meth habit.”
Sneed agreed in exchange for Glossip’s testimony to plead guilty and received a sentence of life without parole. Glossip’s case attracted international interest due to its unusual nature, which was that his conviction had little or no corroboration. Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals described the first case against Glossip as “extremely weakened”.
Glossip, since his conviction in 2004, has maintained his innocence. There has also been considerable doubt about his guilt. Many people claim that Sneed was the sole perpetrator of the murder and did not have any involvement with Glossip. Sneed could have received a lesser sentence for his testimony against Glossip.
Glossip, a plaintiff in Glossip V. Gross before the Supreme Court, ruled in 2015 that the three-drug protocol involving midazolam bromide and potassium chloride, administered by the United States, did not qualify as cruel and unusual punishments under the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Glossip received three consecutive stays of execution in September and October of the same year due to concerns about Oklahoma’s lethal injectable drugs. This was after Oklahoma Department of Corrections officials executed Charles Frederick Warner, against protocol, on January 15, 2015. They used potassium chloride instead of potassium acetate. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt commissioned a grand jury investigation into the execution drug mix up.
The case against Richard Glossip was controversial, and raised many questions about the criminal court system and use of death penalty. Many have called for Glossip to be retried or his sentence commuted due to the uncertainty surrounding his guilt.