Oklahoma court denies motion to halt execution of Glossip

In a 3-2 decision, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied Richard Glossip’s request for an evidentiary hearing and an emergency stay of execution.

Glossip is scheduled to be executed at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Beyond the anticipated appeal directly to the nation’s High Court, lingering as a potential legal issue is news report from KOKH Fox 25’s Phil Cross, whose reporting pointed to destruction of evidence before Glossip’s appeals were exhausted.

Just hours before Glossip was scheduled to die September 16, the Court of Criminal Appeals intervened, and granted a two-week reprieve so his attorneys could gather evidence.

Glossip was convicted of murder for the 1997 death of motel owner Barry Van Treese, though Glossip wasn’t the actual killer. Prosecutors allege Glossip masterminded the killing at the motel in Oklahoma City because he was afraid Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the inn. Two former Oklahoma prison inmates swore in affidavits they heard Sneed brag about framing Glossip.

The actress, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of anti-capital punishment campaigner Sister Helen Prejean in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, described Glossip’s two trials as “ridiculous” and said there was no physical evidence to implicate him.

Glossip’s attorneys will make a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday in hopes of saving the inmate’s life. Sneed is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the medium-security Joseph A. Harp Correctional Center in Lexington.

The majority ruling said: “We find, therefore, an evidentiary hearing, discovery or further stay of execution is not warranted in this case”.

Glossip’s attorneys released a statement Monday afternoon.

Both Fallin and Pruitt restated their sympathy for the family of Van Treese, who was beaten to death by Justin Sneed.

“This case splintered the Court of Criminal Appeals – a 3-2 vote”, said Donald Knight, a member of Glossip’s legal team. “Glossip’s conviction is not based exclusively on the testimony of a co-defendant and the execution of the sentence will not violate the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution”.

Knight and Glossip’s other attorneys said that interview only strengthens their case.

‘My office will respect whatever decision the court makes, as we have throughout this process’.