The Supreme Court of the United States agreed on Monday to take up the appeal of a convict, on death row for more than 25 years and whose fate has sparked a campaign of support ranging from the Pope to Hollywood stars.
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In May, the Court had already granted a stay of execution of Richard Glossip, 60, initially scheduled for May 18 in Oklahoma (center). In an unusual circumstance, the attorney general of this conservative state supported this request for a stay, recognizing problems in the testimony which led to his conviction.
AFP
One of the condemned man’s lawyers, John Mills, declared himself “grateful”, recalling that his client had “proclaimed his innocence throughout his quarter of a century unjustly spent on death row”.
“Mr. Glossip was on the verge of execution nine times, even though the prosecution knew full well that the evidence to sentence him to death was false,” he said.
He was convicted of ordering the 1997 murder of the owner of a motel he managed, based on the highly controversial testimony of Justin Sneed, 19, who confessed to the murder.
Supporters of Richard Glossip denounce the fact that his conviction was based on the sole testimony of Justin Sneed who, by pleading guilty and incriminating him, was able to avoid the death penalty.
The Attorney General of Oklahoma, Gentner Drummond, without going so far as to declare him innocent, called for the annulment of his conviction, which was nevertheless confirmed on appeal by the state justice system in April 2023.
Richard Glossip benefits from a support campaign bringing together personalities such as actors Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo and billionaire Richard Branson.
In September 2015, when his execution seemed imminent, Pope Francis’ representative in the United States wrote a letter addressed to the governor of Oklahoma, asking for a reprieve, ultimately granted solely because of doubts about a product used in the cocktail of lethal substances for the administration of lethal injection.
His story was the subject of a four-part documentary series called “Killing Richard Glossip.”
The first execution planned in the United States in 2024, that of Kenneth Smith, on January 25, is to be carried out by nitrogen inhalation, which would be a world first. In this type of execution, death is caused by hypoxia (oxygen depletion).
