GIST: "In two weeks, a high-profile death row inmate is set to be executed in Oklahoma.
Richard Glossip has been on death row for 25 years for the murder of Barry Van Treese.
The case goes back to 1997, when Glossip and Justin Sneed were convicted of killing Glossip’s boss and owner of the Best Budget Inn, Barry Van Treese.
Although Sneed confessed to beating and killing Van Treese with a bat, Sneed testified that Glossip hired him to kill Van Treese.
In exchange for his testimony, Sneed was given a life sentence. Glossip was sentenced to death.
Over the years, Glossip has had his execution date delayed at least seven times.
His current execution date is set for May 18, 2023.
Recently, Glossip’s petition for clemency was denied after the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 2-2 on the case.
On Tuesday, Glossip’s attorney asked the Oklahoma County District Court to throw out that hearing and stop his execution.
The court filing says the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board failed to seat an impartial replacement member to ensure that Glossip had a trial before a five-member board, which he says is required by the Oklahoma Constitution.
Officials say Richard Smothermon recused himself from the vote since he is married to the lead prosecutor in Glossip’s case.
“Mr. Smothermon properly recused himself due to this clear conflict of interest, but the split 2-2 vote at Mr. Glossip’s clemency hearing resulted in a denial that precludes Governor Kevin Stitt from granting clemency,” a release states.
“The State of Oklahoma has already agreed that Richard Glossip was denied a fair trial and, to add further insult to his constitutional rights, he has now been denied a fair clemency hearing,” said his attorney, Don Knight.
“The Board’s split decision is precisely the outcome this lawsuit sought to avoid, and it underscores the grave injustice of allowing Rich’s execution to proceed without a proper clemency hearing before a fully constituted Board.”
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond says he is also calling on the Supreme Court to step in and stop the pending execution.
On Monday, he asked the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution, saying there were enough problems with Glossip’s conviction that he deserves a new trial.
Specifically, Drummond said the key witness against Glossip lied on the stand about his psychiatric condition and his reason for taking the mood-stabilizing drug lithium.
As the Oklahoma Attorney General goes to the Supreme Court, a group of Oklahoma faith leaders from across the state are asking Gov. Kevin Stitt and legislators to save Glossip’s life.
“Elected officials who value the sanctity of life should use their power to stop Mr. Glossip’s execution,” said Baptist Pastor John-Mark Hart. “There are serious doubts in this case, and killing an innocent man would be a moral travesty.""
https://kfor.com/news/local/glossip-asks-court-to-void-clemency-hearing-as-others-call-for-stop-to-execution/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
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