[ad_1]
(CNN) The Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles on Wednesday denied a pardon in the case of death row inmate Richard Grossip, who has long claimed he was innocent of the 1997 murder he is scheduled to be executed next month.
The board voted 2 to 2 to reject Glossip’s pardon request. It has the backing of Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who made an unprecedented move to appear at the parole board meeting Wednesday to defend the pardon.
A fifth member of the board declined to vote, and after a hearing that lasted about three hours, the board asked for mercy from Drummond, an independent investigator, Grossip’s attorney, and the inmate himself: said like I’m not a murderer and I don’t deserve to die for this. ”
Glossip, a 60-year-old former motel manager, was convicted of murder for ordering the murder of his boss, Barry Van Treese. After more than 24 years on death row and his three probation or reprieves, Glossip is now on his ninth execution date.
Another employee, Justin Snead, who was 19 at the time, admitted to killing Van Trees with a baseball bat at an Oklahoma City motel. But in 1998, prosecutors told jurors that Snead murdered Van Trees in a hired murder plot orchestrated by Grossip. was
Glossip claims no involvement in Van Treese’s murder. In another generous filing, his legal team called him “a victim of a massive breakdown in the justice system that would have been disturbing if even a minor incident had happened.”
“This board should recommend that he be allowed to live,” the defense team wrote.
It was a “grave injustice” to pass Glossip’s execution, which is scheduled for May 18, Drummond wrote in a letter to the parole board ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. sentenced to only a few years.
Drummond commissioned a special inquiry into the case, which cited “multiple and cumulative errors” in concluding that Grossip’s conviction should be vacated and a new trial given to him.
“In order to gain public confidence in our criminal justice system, it is my duty as the state’s chief law enforcement officer not to ignore evidence and facts,” Drummond said in the letter.
Glossip’s case is endorsed by Kim Kardashian. called out to followers on twitter Call the parole board and Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. Kardashian, who has defended the innocence of other death row inmates in the past, has not cooperated with Grossip’s legal team.
Drummond, a Republican who took office in January, also said in a letter Monday: Special Investigation, writing the findings was “troublesome”.
“I am not aware that the Oklahoma Attorney General has backed a death row pardon,” Drummond wrote. “In all previous cases submitted to this Commission, the State has placed complete reliance on the integrity of the convictions. not.”
Among the evidence contained in the special counsel’s report are documents showing that Sneed wanted to retract his testimony, writing to his attorney:
Drummond believes that Grossip may be guilty of murder, he wrote in the letter that evidence showed Grossip was guilty of complicity after the fact. The record does not support him guilty of the crime beyond reasonable doubt, Drummond writes.
Drummond said Grossip’s execution “represented gross injustice,” adding that “the court’s conviction was refuted by a string of faults that, taken as a whole, gave rise to reasonable doubt.” It should not be carried out under dubious circumstances,” he added.
Glossip’s original death sentence was overturned after three years due to incompetent defense counsel. However, he was convicted again in 2004 and sentenced to death again.
In 2015, Glossip was more than an hour past his execution time when then-Republican Governor Mary Fallin issued a suspended sentence based on the constitutionality of the state’s execution procedures.
On April 6, the attorney general asked the state court of criminal appeals to reverse Glossip’s conviction and remand the case to district court. But in his 5-0 verdict last week, the judge dismissed all requests.
[ad_2]
Source link
