Oklahoma AG asks state court to vacate Glossip's death row conviction

Apr. 6—Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a motion Thursday requesting the state's appellate court vacate the death row conviction of Richard Glossip.

Glossip, 60, was convicted twice of first-degree murder in the murder-for-hire plot that accused him of hiring Justin Sneed to kill motel owner Barry Van Treese in 1997 in Oklahoma City.

Drummond released a final report from Independent Counsel Rex Duncan, an Oklahoma attorney who was chosen for that role by the Oklahoma Attorney General's office. That report didn't declare Glossip innocent, but noted multiple issues that cast doubt on the conviction.

"After thorough and serious deliberation, I have concluded that I cannot stand behind the murder conviction and death sentence of Richard Glossip," Drummond said in a press release. "This is not to say I believe he is innocent. However, it is critical that Oklahomans have absolute faith that the death penalty is administered fairly and with certainty."

Glossip's case gained global attention over questions that led 34 Oklahoma Republican lawmakers to form an ad hoc committee requesting an independent review and eventually call for an end to the death penalty.

State Rep. Kevin McDugle, R-Broken Arrow, led the committee and said he would "fight to end the death penalty in Oklahoma" if Glossip was executed. McDugle told CNHI Oklahoma on Thursday he has long-believed getting Glossip exonerated would take "a total act of God" — but he said the case sheds doubt on Oklahoma's death penalty process.

"I believe it does and I believe that," said McDugle, who reiterated he supports the death penalty. "That's why here just a month or two ago, we asked for a moratorium until we can get some of these things fixed."

Glossip was convicted twice of first-degree murder in a 1997 plot that accused him of hiring Sneed to kill Van Treese. Sneed admitted to killing Van Treese and told investigators it was under Glossip's direction as part of a plea deal for a sentence of life imprisonment.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Glossip's conviction before a 2004 retrial resulted in another conviction and death sentence.

Drummond wrote in his Thursday motion that Glossip's conviction should be vacated based on what he said was Sneed's false testimony. Sneed was prescribed lithium by a psychiatrist to treat a previous bipolar affective disorder diagnosis, but he falsely testified that he "never seen no psychiatrist or anything."

Drummond argued that Sneed "was able to effectively hide his psychiatric condition" and said the false testimony warranted post-conviction relief for Glossip.

The Reed Smith law firm, of Houston, Texas, conducted an independent review of the case at the request of the ad hoc committee and it called attention to multiple issues that raised questions about Glossip's conviction.

Don Knight, Glossip's attorney, then filed a petition for post-conviction relief based on those findings, which he said were reiterated in the AG's Thursday decision.

"It is now clear that it would be unconscionable for the state to move forward with Mr. Glossip's execution when there is so much doubt surrounding his conviction," Knight said. "We thank General Drummond for his courageous decision to take a deeper look at this difficult case and urge the court of criminal appeals to quickly grant the Attorney General's request and remand Mr. Glossip's case to the trial court for further proceedings."

Duncan's review states police officers told Glossip during initial interviews that he failed a polygraph, but Glossip maintains he was never administered an actual polygraph but only given a fingertip oximeter. No reports from a polygraph test were ever provided to the state or to Glossip. According to Duncan, the Oklahoma City Police Department "purportedly destroyed" polygraph records after two years, meaning they were not available for the 2001 conviction reversal or the 2004 retrial.

Duncan alleged that the OKCPD or the DA's office also destroyed or lost a box of evidence in the case that contained 10 other items, and also returned other key evidence to the victim's family prior to trial.

OKCPD declined comment.

A call to the Oklahoma County DA's office also was not answered.

The review also criticizes defense attorneys for not challenging Sneed's plea agreement.

Duncan also was critical of former DA Connie Smothermon, who wrote a memo during the trial to Sneed's attorney Gina Walker after his testimony conflicted with that of the medical examiner's testimony over the use of a knife.

"A plausible purpose of Smothermon's memo to Walker was to communicate the ME's previously unheard testimony and coach Sneed's testimony to match the ME's opinion," Duncan wrote.

Smothermon did not respond to a request for comment.

If Oklahoma's criminal appeals court decides to vacate the conviction, Oklahoma County DA Vicki Behenna would then decide whether to retry the case. Behenna has not publicly commented about how she might handle that scenario.

Oklahoma's death chamber was among the busiest in the nation before troubled executions in 2014 and 2015 led to a years-long moratorium — with then-Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin issuing a stay just moments before Glossip was first scheduled to be executed.

The state ended its moratorium on executions in October 2021 when John Marion Grant was executed, which also was controversial because he convulsed nearly two dozen times and vomited on himself before he died by lethal injection.

Attorneys challenged Oklahoma's three-drug mixture used in executions before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state could resume them.

The U.S. Supreme Court is also reviewing Glossip's case after a petition for a writ of certiorari was filed in January asking the country's highest court for relief citing new evidence claiming Brady v. Maryland violations.

"My heart truly goes out to the Van Treese family, who have been waiting decades for a final measure of justice," Drummond said. "The family and friends of Barry Van Treese have been in pain for 26 years, and what they have lost cannot be restored. I hope and pray that one day they will find peace."