Wednesday, June 22, 2022

Richard Glossip: Oklahoma: Bulletin: (Destruction of evidence): His lawyer has sent a message to the Oklahoma Court of Appeal: Do not set an execution date for this man whose innocence is made clear in a recently released independent review..."McAlester-based attorney Warren Gotcher filed the request with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals for post-conviction review and objection to setting execution date on Glossip's behalf stating that a formal filing will be filed with the court by July 1, 2022. The filing comes after State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said during a press conference this week that he believes Glossip is innocent based on results of an independent review — which Gotcher referenced in the filing. "Based on the findings of this independent investigation, including the state's destruction of evidence, we conclude that the 2004 trial cannot be relied on to support a murder-for-hire conviction," Gotcher wrote. "Nor can it provide a basis for the government to take the life of Richard E. Glossip."


QUOTE OF THE DAY: "McDugle said he learned of Glossip's case a few years ago and had concerns. Now he believes Glossip is innocent after reviewing the report's findings and despite being pro-death penalty, McDugle said he would fight to end the death penalty in Oklahoma if Glossip is executed.  "If we put Richard Glossip to death, I will fight in this state to abolish the death penalty simply because the process is not pure," McDugle said. "If we're going to put people to death, we have to make sure we have a pure process and that the people that are being put to death are deserving."


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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "McAlester-based attorney Warren Gotcher filed the request with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals for post-conviction review and objection to setting execution date on Glossip's behalf stating that a formal filing will be filed with the court by July 1, 2022.  The filing comes after State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said during a press conference this week that he believes Glossip is innocent based on results of an independent review — which Gotcher referenced in the filing. "Based on the findings of this independent investigation, including the state's destruction of evidence, we conclude that the 2004 trial cannot be relied on to support a murder-for-hire conviction," Gotcher wrote.  "Nor can it provide a basis for the government to take the life of Richard E. Glossip."


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STORY: "Attorney requests abeyance in Glossip execution scheduling," by Reporter Derrick James, published by McAlister News-Capital, on June 17, 2022.


GIST: An attorney for death row inmate Richard Glossip asked an Oklahoma appeals court to not schedule his execution to allow a post-conviction review of his case.


McAlester-based attorney Warren Gotcher filed the request with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals for post-conviction review and objection to setting execution date on Glossip's behalf stating that a formal filing will be filed with the court by July 1, 2022. 


The filing comes after State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, said during a press conference this week that he believes Glossip is innocent based on results of an independent review — which Gotcher referenced in the filing.


"Based on the findings of this independent investigation, including the state's destruction of evidence, we conclude that the 2004 trial cannot be relied on to support a murder-for-hire conviction," Gotcher wrote. 


"Nor can it provide a basis for the government to take the life of Richard E. Glossip."


Attorneys for the Oklahoma Attorney General's office filed notices of execution dates with OCCA last week in the case against Richard Glossip and 24 other death row inmates who have exhausted their appeals. 


Glossip is suggested to be the second inmate scheduled to be executed, which would take place in September if the current schedule asked for by the AG's office is granted by OCCA. 


Gotcher requests in the report for OCCA to "hold in abeyance" the AG's request so that proper motions can be filed. The independent review of Glossip' case came at the request of an ad hoc committee comprised of 34 Oklahoma state lawmakers, including 28 Republicans.


McDugle said he learned of Glossip's case a few years ago and had concerns. Now he believes Glossip is innocent after reviewing the report's findings and despite being pro-death penalty, McDugle said he would fight to end the death penalty in Oklahoma if Glossip is executed. 


"If we put Richard Glossip to death, I will fight in this state to abolish the death penalty simply because the process is not pure," McDugle said. "If we're going to put people to death, we have to make sure we have a pure process and that the people that are being put to death are deserving."


Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death for commissioning the 1997 death of Barry Van Treese.  


Justin Sneed, a handyman at the hotel Glossip managed, admitted robbing and beating Van Treese to death with a baseball bat after Glossip offered to pay him $10,000.  


Sneed is serving a life sentence without parole after pleading guilty to the crime and testifying against Glossip.


OCCA has not made a ruling on the filings or on the AG's request to schedule execution dates as of press time Friday."


The entire story can be read at:


https://news.yahoo.com/attorney-requests-abeyance-glossip-execution-230500106.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;



SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:




FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;