Dr. Phil Joins Rally For Death Row Inmate At Capitol

At the Capitol today, lawmakers and supporters gathered to fight for justice for the longtime death row inmate Richard Glossip.

The Supreme Court recently granted a temporary stay for Glossip’s case, stopping his scheduled execution. Glossip’s family and supporters said today, they need to keep fighting until Glossip is free from death row.

“There's no justice until he goes home,” said Dr. Phil.

“Thank God that we’re going to free Richard Glossip and we’re going to see justice done,” said Rep. Justin Humphrey (R-Lane).

Glossip has had 9 execution dates, 3 last meals and spent 26 years on death row. Glossip was convicted in a murder for hire case, accused of hiring Justin Sneed to kill Barry Van Treese in 1997.

Through all of the years, Glossip has maintained his innocence in the case.

“We’re going to get justice because Oklahoma is not going to kill an innocent man,” said Don Knight, Glossip’s attorney. 

Glossip’s wife, Lea Glossip, has been one of many fighting to get her husband out of jail.

“Having the chains cutting up his wrist as we fill out our funeral forms and pick his last meal over and over again it's just gut wrenching to do that with the person you love,” said Lea Glossip.

Two longtime advocates fighting to get Glossip off death row, Sister Helen Prejean and Dr. Phil, renewed their calls for the courts at the rally today.

“For him to spend another day on death row, is on its face injustice,” said Dr. Phil.

Dr. Phil has done multiple specials on why he believes Glossip is innocent. Being an Oklahoma native himself, Dr. Phil is calling on his fellow Oklahomans to stand and take action.

“There are few times in our lives that we really have the opportunity to actually do something that directly impacts whether someone lives or dies. This is one of those situations,” said Dr. Phil.

Lawmakers laid out what they call injustices in Glossip's case, talking about the recently surfaced box of evidence, the state’s key witness- Justin Sneed’s changed testimony, and what they called corruption from the previous district attorney’s office.

“There is no one in Oklahoma above the law, including the legislators, including the judges, including the DA’s,” said Rep. Kevin McDugle (R-Broken Arrow).

Representative McDugle is one of many legislators that conducted a private review of Glossip’s case and have been pushing the courts to overturn their decision. 

The Supreme Court’s temporary stay provided some hope for Glossip, but many believe the fight for justice is not over. 

“Richard, we’re with you, we’re praying for you, we’ll be here for you until the end,” said Sister Helen Prejean.

The victim, Barry Van Treese’s family, has been very present over the last two decades. They continue to speak against Glossip’s freedom, saying justice will not be served until Glossip is executed.