Glossip was twice convicted and sentenced to death for ordering the murder of hotel owner Barry Van Treese in Oklahoma City.
A Republican state representative who defines himself as a supporter of the death penalty has stated that he believes Richard Glossip is innocent.
Oklahoman Kevin McDugle responded to a Houston legal firm’s report on the Glossip case.
He stated, “We have a man on death row who has been there for 25 years, and I feel he is completely innocent.”
Glossip, age 59, has been convicted twice and condemned to death for ordering the murder of motel owner Barry Van Treese, for whom he worked in Oklahoma City.
Justin Sneed, a handyman, acknowledged robbing and assaulting Mr. Van Treese in January 1997, although he said he did so only because Glossip gave him $10,000. Sneed is receiving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to killing Van Treese with a baseball bat in a hotel room.
However, the law firm Reed Smith, which provided its findings to the state of Oklahoma for free, stated that crucial evidence in Glossip’s case had been lost or destroyed.
To accuse Glossip, it was also alleged that a detective unlawfully asked Sneed suggestive questions.
Stan Perry, an attorney with Reed Smith, stated, “Our opinion is that no reasonable juror would have convicted Richard Glossip of capital murder after hearing the whole record and newly discovered information.”
Financial data that were burned in late 1999 or early 2000, before Glossip’s retrial and after his first conviction and death sentence were overturned, were among the missing evidence.
These could have challenged the prosecution’s claim that Glossip killed Mr. Van Treese to conceal his alleged misappropriation from the motel where he served as manager.
This loss or destruction of evidence appears to be so crucial to the defense that it casts considerable questions on the fundamental fairness of the criminal prosecution against Glossip, according to the report.
Mr. McDugle pushed for the probe and stated, “I do believe in the death sentence, but there must be protections to protect the innocent.”
He demanded a new appeals court hearing for Glossip, stating, “If we execute Richard Glossip, I will strive to eliminate the death penalty in this state because the process is not clean.”
Don Knight, Glossip’s attorney, stated, “In the coming days, Mr. Glossip’s defense team will file a request for a hearing with the Oklahoma Court of Appeals so that this new proof of innocence can be evaluated in a court of law.”
District Attorney David Prater of Oklahoma County, who assumed office after Glossip’s second trial and second death sentence, stated that he is studying the findings.
He has previously stated, after reviewing several pieces of evidence, that he believes Glossip is guilty and that he would support a retrial for first-degree murder and again seek the death penalty.
In September 2015, Glossip was close to being executed, but prison officials had the wrong deadly medication.
Oklahoma’s executions were halted after it was learned that another prisoner had been executed using the medication.
In October, they resumed with the execution of John Grant, who convulsed and vomited before being pronounced dead.
