Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will review the ongoing appeal of Richard Glossip, a death row inmate in Oklahoma whose execution was halted by the justices last year. The decision to delay Glossip’s execution came after the state’s Republican attorney general informed the court of prosecutorial misconduct in the case, making his death “unthinkable.”
Glossip’s case has received widespread national and international attention due to bipartisan support for his cause. Independent investigations into the case raised serious doubts about the fairness of Glossip’s 1997 murder trial, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner F. Drummond. Reports indicated that key information about a crucial witness was withheld from Glossip’s lawyers, and false testimony was not corrected by the prosecutors. Despite Glossip’s conviction, it was revealed that he did not commit the murder, but rather a drug-addled handyman named Justin Sneed was responsible.
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether Glossip’s death penalty conviction should be overturned in light of the state’s acknowledged errors. His legal team insists that crucial evidence about Sneed’s psychiatric condition was not disclosed by the state, leading them to believe that Glossip’s conviction must be reversed and a new trial granted.
Glossip has maintained his innocence throughout the more than 25 years he has spent on death row. In 2015, a mistake involving the wrong lethal drug led to a seven-year moratorium on executions in Oklahoma, just hours before his scheduled execution. The Supreme Court also intervened to prevent his execution last spring.
Oklahoma’s attorney general has called for a new trial for Glossip, emphasizing the importance of maintaining public confidence in the death penalty. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch will not participate in the case, as he was involved in an earlier proceeding related to Glossip when he was an appeals court judge.