An Innocent Man May Be Executed In Oklahoma Tomorrow

Richard Glossip was working at the Best Budget Motel in Oklahoma City when his boss and motel owner, Barry Von Treese, was found dead in one of the rooms. One week later Justin Sneed, the 19-year-old handyman and meth addict, was arrested. Sneed then confessed to beating Von Treese to death with a baseball bat. Police even found Sneed’s fingerprints and DNA all over the crime scene. But when Sneed talked to police he claimed that it was all Glossip’s idea and that he had been hired by him to kill their boss.

A jury sentenced Glossip to death, but that verdict was overturned. He was then offered a plea deal to plead guilty to second-degree murder and receive a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Glossip had a clean record and maintained his innocence refusing the plea deal. The second jury went on to also sentence him to death.

Many years and appeals later and nothing has changed. Glossip is still scheduled to be executed despite the many pleas to have him released. Sneed’s daughter even wrote the Parole Board claiming the her father wants to recant his statement:

For a couple of years now, my father has been talking to me about recanting his original testimony. But [he] has been afraid to act upon it, in fear of being charged with the Death Penalty, and not be here for his children. My father has no reason to do so as a favor to Richard, as him and Mr. Glossip have no relationship and have had no communication in the last 17 years. I feel his conscious[sic] is getting to him. His fear of recanting, but guilt about not doing so, makes it obvious that information he is sitting on would exonerate Mr. Glossip.

Sadly, the letter never reached the board in time. Now she says she wants to support her father who said he never wanted to recant according to Glossip’s lawyers.

Petitions have been signed, and Oklahoma’s Governor has been urged to stay Glossip’s execution, but to no avail. Now his team is scrambling to get him a last minute reprieve, but we wont know until tomorrow.

-Saher K: OTG Team 

UPDATE-9/16: According to CNN - An Oklahoma appellate court granted a two-week stay of execution for Richard Glossip just hours before he was scheduled to die, granting a temporary reprieve for a man whose lawyers say he is innocent.