OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorneys for an Oklahoma man set to be executed Wednesday made a last-minute plea at the state Capitol Monday morning.
Richard Glossip is set to die on the execution table Wednesday, September 16.
His attorneys are still chasing down witnesses, trying to get enough evidence to take to a judge.
Glossip was sentenced to death after being convicted in the murder-for-hire case of motel manager Barry Van Treese.
The 1997 murder case hinged on the testimony of Justin Sneed, who claimed that Glossip paid him to kill Barry Van Treese.
“When this execution is done, Sneed is going to be laughing. He’s going to be laughing at everybody, every single person in Oklahoma,” Glossip’s attorney Don Knight said.
Monday, Glossip’s attorneys revealed new evidence, including an inmate who allegedly said he heard Sneed brag in prison that he set Glossip up.
“I don’t have any problem with the credibility of my witnesses. These people came forward,” Knight said.
District Attorney David Prater says he was supposed to meet with Glossip’s attorneys Monday morning but canceled when he heard about the press conference.
He tells us he has thoroughly reviewed the case and hasn’t seen any new evidence.
“This is crap. This is a bull**** PR campaign, that’s all it is,” Prater said.
Glossip’s attorney also talked about a police report with information from Justin Sneed’s drug dealer, who describes the convicted killer as a very different person than he was portrayed when he testified against Glossip.
“If it was a bull**** PR campaign, I guess I wouldn’t have brought an affidavit with me,” Knight said.
Glossip has gained some unlikely supporters.
Jannie Coverdale lost two grandsons in the Oklahoma City bombing.
“After Tim McVeigh was executed, I realized that killing Tim didn’t make me feel any better,” Coverdale said.
She’s been writing letters to Glossip on death row.
“After reading so much about Richard, I really believe Richard is innocent, and I cannot imagine us executing an innocent man,” Coverdale said.
New Information: Fallin released this statement on Tuesday.
“For months, and as part of a larger publicity campaign opposing the death penalty, Richard Glossip’s attorneys have been publicly claiming to have new evidence that exonerates their client. During that time, my office and I have urged them to bring that so-called evidence to the proper venue: a court of law. Not only have Glossip’s lawyers not done so, but they have actively rejected requests from public officials to examine whatever materials they have. His attorneys even refused to share the contact information of so-called ‘new witnesses’ with Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater and with my office.
“Yesterday, forty-eight hours before Glossip’s scheduled execution, his attorneys presented my office with a binder of what they have labeled ‘new evidence.’ After reviewing it with my legal team, we have determined the vast majority of the limited content they have presented is not new; furthermore, we find none of the material to be credible evidence of Richard Glossip’s innocence. After carefully reviewing the facts of this case multiple times, I see no reason to cast doubt on the guilty verdict reached by the jury or to delay Glossip’s sentence of death. For that reason I am rejecting his request for a stay of execution.
“Nevertheless, I join our district attorney in urging Glossip’s legal team to present whatever information they have to a court of law. Courts, unlike my office, have the legal authority to grant an indefinite stay of execution or a retrial. Courts are the proper venue to present new information or evidence, and the attorneys representing Glossip have a moral and ethical duty to file legal documents and make their case in front of a judge.
“In the event that a court refuses to issue a stay, Richard Glossip will be executed tomorrow. I hope the execution brings a sense of closure and peace to the Van Treese family, who has suffered greatly because of Glossip’s crimes.” – Governor Mary Fallin
His attorneys say they are working on court documents to file in an appeals court.
Glossip’s execution is set for Wednesday at 3 p.m.
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