Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Sets Execution Dates for Six Death Row Inmates, including Richard Glossip

Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Sets Execution Dates for Six Death Row Inmates, including Richard Glossip

CapitolBeatOK Staff Report

OKLAHOMA CITY – The state of Oklahoma has set execution dates for six Oklahoma death row inmates. At least one of those scheduled for execution is widely believed factually innocent of murder in the death of an Oklahoma City inn-keeper.

After the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals announced six execution dates on July 1, state Attorney General John O’Connor released the following statement:

“[T]he Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals set execution dates in six cases involving the murders of eight individuals: Albert Hale, Barry Van Treese, Brianna Cole, Adam Broomhall, Mary Bowles, Jerald Thurman, and A.J. and Patsy Cantrell.

“The earliest of these murders was committed in 1993, and the most recent was in 2003.

“The family members of these loved ones have waited decades for justice. They are courageous and inspiring in their continued expressions of love for the ones they lost. My office stands beside them as they take this next step in the journey that the murderers forced upon them.

“Oklahomans overwhelmingly voted in 2016 to preserve the death penalty as a consequence for the most heinous murders. I’m certain that justice and safety for all of us drove that vote.”

In his statement, O’Connor made no reference to a mid-June press conference at which the findings of a comprehensive re-examination of the Glossip case — including new evidence of his innocence — was presented to Oklahomans at state Capitol press conference.

(https://www.capitolbeatok.com/reports/republican-legislator-says-recently-surfaced-evidence-proves-oklahoma-death-row-inmate-richard-glossip-is-innocent/)

The Glossip case is controversial for a number of reasons beyond his possible innocence.

The Associated Press reported in a July 1 story, “Glossip, whose first conviction and death sentence was overturned, was hours from being executed in September 2015 following a second conviction and death sentence when prison officials realized they had received the wrong lethal drug.

“It was later learned the same wrong drug had been used previously to execute an inmate, and executions in the state were put on hold.”

(https://apnews.com/article/executions-oklahoma-2de93b90da0564477f90b7be9f936ed0)

The July 1 AP story, by reporter Ken Miller, continued:

“The report by the law firm Reed Smith alleges evidence was lost or destroyed, and that a detective improperly asked leading questions to co-defendant Justin Sneed to implicate Glossip in the slaying of Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Oklahoma City motel where Glossip worked.

“Sneed, the motel handyman, is serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to beating Van Treese to death with a baseball bat in 1997 in a room at the motel. Sneed testified that he killed Van Treese, but only after Glossip, the motel manager, promised to pay him $10,000 to commit the crime.

“The facts and evidence that we now know in this case prove Richard Glossip is an innocent man,” Glossip attorney Don Knight said.

Knight continued, as reported by the AP:

“We urge the State of Oklahoma to grant this request for post-conviction relief based on the abundance of new evidence that has never before been evaluated by a judge or jury.”

Further, the AP reported, “Knight also asked that the court lift Glossip’s execution date until reaching a decision on his motion for a new hearing.

Knight, working pro bono to save Glossip’s life, continued, according to the AP, “We implore the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to strike Richard Glossip’s execution date until this new information can be fully considered.”

Reporter Ken Miller further wrote: “The motion alleges prosecutorial misconduct, insufficient and improper evidence, ineffective defense counsel, improper jury instructions and that the judge failed to sequester the jury in the Glossip’s case.”

Note: Pat McGuigan, publisher of CapitolBeatOK.com, contributed to this report.