OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Attorneys for an Oklahoma death row inmate are making a last-minute effort to spare their client’s life just hours before his scheduled execution, arguing they have new evidence to support his claim that he was framed.
Richard Eugene Glossip’s attorneys asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals late Tuesday to stop his lethal injection, saying they uncovered new details in the case, including a signed affidavit from an inmate who served time with Justin Sneed, who also was convicted of the killing and is serving a life sentence.
“We’re asking for a stay of execution to give the court more time to review this new evidence, which we think casts grave doubt on Richard’s guilt,” said Mark Henricksen, one of Glossip’s attorneys.
Glossip, 52, is scheduled to be executed Wednesday afternoon at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. He was convicted of ordering the 1997 beating death of Barry Van Treese, who owned the motel where Glossip worked.
Sneed was the prosecution’s key witness and testified that Glossip masterminded the killing because he was afraid Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the motel. Sneed was sentenced to life in prison in exchange for his testimony.