Oklahoma Pardon And Parole Board Denies Clemency For Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has denied clemency for Death Row inmate Richard Glossip.

Glossip went before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday to ask for clemency, with the state arguing in favor of clemency.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals recently denied a request to stay Glossip's execution and grant him a new trial. That request was supported by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

Drummond said he is disappointed that the board didn't recommend clemency for Glossip.

Drummond released the following statement after clemency was denied:

“Public confidence in the death penalty requires that these cases receive the highest standard of reliability,” he said. “While the State has not questioned the integrity of previous death penalty cases, the Glossip conviction is very different. I believe it would be a grave injustice to execute an individual whose trial conviction was beset by a litany of errors.”

Glossip's attorney, Don Knight, released the following statement after the board's decision:

“We call on Governor Stitt to grant a reprieve of Richard Glossip’s scheduled execution on May 18, 2023 because the execution of an innocent man would be an irreversible injustice. We will pursue every avenue in the courts to stop this unlawful judicial execution. New evidence has shown that Justin Sneed, the person who committed the murder and the star witness for the prosecution, lied on the stand and wanted to recant his false testimony. If the jury had known what we know now, they never would have convicted Mr. Glossip. The national law firm Reed Smith undertook a thorough, independent review of this case and concluded that no reasonable juror who heard all the evidence, which has never been presented, would have found Mr. Glossip guilty of murder for hire. Then, an Independent Counsel appointed by Attorney General Drummond conducted another comprehensive review of Mr. Glossip’s case and documented multiple instances of error that cast serious doubt on Mr. Glossip’s conviction. AG Drummond, Oklahoma’s chief law enforcement officer, then took the extraordinary step of conceding error, citing ‘material misrepresentations’ by Mr. Sneed, and asked the court to throw out not just Mr. Glossip’s death sentence, but his entire conviction. The public support for Mr. Glossip is diverse, widespread, and growing, including at least 45 death penalty supporting Republicans in the Legislature who also reached the conclusion that there is too much doubt to execute Mr. Glossip. It would be a travesty for Oklahoma to move forward with the execution of an innocent man.”

Related: Dr. Phil's Thoughts On Glossip Case

Glossip's execution date is currently scheduled for May 18.

Related: Family Of Victim In Richard Glossip Case Previously Talked About Impact Of Murder

Related: 'There's So Many Things With This Case That Are Just Wrong': Rep. McDugle On Glossip Case

Barry Van Treese was beaten to death in an Oklahoma City motel room in 1997. Prosecutors said Richard Glossip paid a co-worker, Justin Sneed, to kill Van Treese, who was Glossip's boss. Sneed confessed to the murder, and as part of his plea agreement to avoid the death penalty, Sneed testified against Glossip.

Glossip was convicted of first-degree murder in 1998 and has been on death row since, while Sneed received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

Attorneys for Richard Glossip filed an unopposed application for stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. Attorney General Drummond has informed Glossip's attorneys that he will file a response with the court in support of this application.