Oklahoma City – State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, will host a pair of watch parties for Oklahomans and the media to view a recent episode of Dr. Phil dealing with the Richard Glossip case and McDugle’s efforts to get new evidence reviewed in the case.

Glossip is currently on death row at Oklahoma State Penitentiary after being convicted of commissioning the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese.

The case has been mired in controversy which has led to a large amount of support for new evidence to be considered. McDugle, who sponsored legislation last session dealing with some of the issues surrounding the case, said he went on Dr. Phil to shine an even broader light on the situation.

“I am totally convinced that we have an innocent man on death row right now, and executing him would be a complete miscarriage of justice,” McDugle said. “Our justice system needs to be completely sure of a person’s guilt or innocence before someone’s life is taken, and there is too much new and convincing evidence in this case to have that certainty. I’m fighting for the court to take another look at this case so we don’t execute an innocent man.”

McDugle sponsored House Bill 1551, which would have established a Conviction Integrity Unit, and House Bill 2219, dealing with disclosure of evidence after a conviction or guilty plea, in the 2021 legislative session.

Neither bill passed during session.

Justin Sneed, the man who murdered Van Treese, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for testifying against Glossip and received a sentence of life without parole. Sneed’s testimony was the primary piece of evidence used to convict. Glossip is the recipient of international attention due to the unusual nature of his conviction.

McDugle added, “I am firmly committed to continuing this fight until Mr. Glossip gets a fair review of the relevant evidence in this case. More than 25 new witnesses and experts have signed sworn affidavits and are ready to testify that there are serious problems with various aspects of the prosecution’s case. These individuals need to be heard because Oklahoma cannot be in the business of killing innocent people. I will continue this fight on the legislative side as well, and plan to once again file bills in the upcoming session that would prevent some of the issues in this case from happening to other Oklahomans.”

The Dr. Phil episode airs on Friday, October 22, and watch parties will be held in Broken Arrow and Oklahoma City.

The Broken Arrow location is The Rooftop, 214 S. Main, Broken Arrow, OK 74102. The Oklahoma City location is Rococo on Western, 4308 N. Western Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73118.

Both watch parties begin at 2:45 p.m. with the show airing at 3:00 p.m.