Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond on Thursday appointed an independent counsel to conduct a complete overview of the homicide conviction and loss of life sentence of Richard Glossip, a loss of life row inmate who has lengthy maintained his innocence in a 1997 murder-for-hire killing.
Drummond introduced the appointment of former District Attorney Rex Duncan to overview all facets of Glossip’s case, together with the preliminary investigation by Oklahoma City police, two separate trials, sentencing and appeals.
“Circumstances surrounding this case necessitate a thorough review,” Drummond said in a statement. “While I am confident in our judicial system, that does not allow me to ignore evidence. This review helps ensure that justice is served, both to the (victim’s) family and the accused.”
Glossip, 59, has lengthy maintained his innocence in the 1997 murder-for-hire killing of his boss, Oklahoma City motel proprietor Barry Van Treese.
A Houston legislation agency that appeared into Glossip’s conviction final 12 months reported misplaced or destroyed proof in the case and {that a} detective who was biased in opposition to Glossip improperly requested main inquiries to a co-defendant, Justin Sneed, to implicate Glossip in the killing.
“Our conclusion is that no reasonable juror, hearing the complete record, and the uncovered facts… would have convicted Richard Glossip of capital murder,” Stan Perry, an lawyer for Houston-based Reed Smith who led the agency’s investigation, stated after the report was launched final 12 months.
A phone message left Thursday with Van Treese’s brother, Ken Van Treese, was not instantly returned.
Sneed, a handyman on the motel the place Glossip was the supervisor, admitted to robbing Van Treese and beating him to loss of life with a baseball bat. But he csaid he did so solely after Glossip promised to pay him $10,000. Sneed was sentenced to life in jail and was a key witness in opposition to Glossip at each of his trials.
Glossip is scheduled to be executed on May 18.
He has been scheduled to be executed three separate instances, solely to be spared shortly earlier than the sentence was set to be carried out. He was simply hours from being executed in September 2015 when jail officers realized they’d acquired the mistaken deadly drug, a mix-up that helped immediate an almost seven-year moratorium on the loss of life penalty in Oklahoma.
Glossip’s lawyer, Don Knight, didn’t instantly reply to a message Thursday in search of remark.
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