Glossip Case Now Up To Court Of Criminal Appeals

Death row inmate Richard Glossip’s fate is now in the hands of the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. This, after Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a motion Thursday afternoon to vacate Glossip’s conviction. 

RELATED: Oklahoma AG Asks Court To Vacate Richard Glossip Conviction

The Attorney General says he's not convinced Glossip is innocent, but doesn't believe that justice is served by executing a man based on the testimony of a compromised witness. 

Richard Glossip has been sitting on death row for nearly a quarter of a century. He's been served three last meals, and at one point was minutes away from execution. But now, his case could get a second chance.

“He was thrilled of course,” said Glossip’s longtime attorney Don Knight. “This is something he’s been pushing for for 26 years.”

Key to the decision according to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is a 19 page independent council report that says "the cumulative effect of errors, omissions, lost evidence, and possible misconduct cannot be underestimated." And a so-called 8th box that contained evidence prosecutors had withheld from defense attorneys and Drummond turned over.

“We’ve gone through all the Attorney Generals in that period of time and nobody did anything other than hide this evidence from us and finally we went ahead and bravely allowed us to have a look at it all there was the evidence we were looking for all these years,” said Knight. 

That evidence revealed Justin Sneed, the prosecution's key witness, suffered from bi-polar disorder.

The Court of Criminal Appeals will now have to rule on the case.

“They don’t have, necessarily, to go along with what the Attorney General asked for. They are an independent court and the court can rule in the way the court wishes to.”

If the court rules in favor of Glossip, the case would be sent back to Oklahoma District court and the desk of new Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna. 

Knight says he has not talked to Behenna about this.

The Court of Criminal Appeals can rule on the motion at any time. They could also call for oral arguments.