Richard Glossip’s Execution Halted In Oklahoma

Glossip, who worked at the motel, was found guilty of recruiting another employee, Justin Sneed, who was just 19 at the time, to carry out the actual murder of owner Barry Van Treese. The Supreme Court affirmed 5-4 Oklahoma’s right to used this drug in a lethal injection mixture.

Glossip, 52, was the lead plaintiff in a case before the nation’s high court that argued the sedative midazolam violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment because it didn’t adequately render an inmate unconscious before the second and third drugs were administered.

“Due to Glossip’s last-minute filing, and in order for this Court to give fair consideration to the materials included with his subsequent application for post-conviction relief, we hereby grant an emergency stay of execution for two weeks”, it said. Glossip’s new execution date is September 30.

“My office will respect whatever decision the court makes, as we have throughout this process”, Fallin said. “My thoughts and prayers go out to the Van Treese family who has suffered greatly during this long ordeal”.

Sneed is serving a jail sentence, while Glossip faces death. “We’re really excited”, Glossip-Hodge said.

Almost a quarter of a million people signed an online petition asking for the execution to be halted after Sarandon, who played Prejean in the movie “Dead Man Walking”, came out in support of a reprieve.

During Glossip’s trials, prosecutors alleged Glossip masterminded the killing because he was afraid Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the motel.

Under the protocol, inmate Richard Glossip’s telephone and visitation privileges were terminated at 9 p.m. Tuesday ahead of Wednesday afternoon’s scheduled execution. He said he hoped his life would be spared, and that he remained optimistic.

“I have to tell you that I’m speechless”, said Glossip’s attorney Don Knight.

“These individuals did not want to get involved”. The appellate court said it needed time to consider several motions that Glossip’s attorneys made less than 24 hours before the scheduled execution, including one asking for an evidentiary hearing. After the botched execution of inmate Clayton Lockett last spring, a state review committee recommended that at least a week pass between executions.