The US Supreme Court, where the majority of the Conservative Judges, annulled the death sentence of a man from the state of Oklahoma and ordered the repetition of his trial, a request that had been supported not only by the defendant’s defense but also by the accused authority. .
Richard Glossip, 62, was found guilty and sentenced to death for in 1997 allegedly commissioned a paid killer to kill the owner of a motel, in which he was a manager. The Supreme Court did not based its current ruling on the criterion of gloss’s innocence but ruled that he was entitled to a “fair trial”.
The judges overthrew Oklahoma’s inferior court ruling that had ratified the conviction of the gloss to death, although he claimed that prosecutors had hidden information that could help defend. Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Dramont agreed with the request of the gloss and supported his appeal.
Three conservative judges (Supreme Court President John Roberts, Brett Cavano and Amy Koni Baret) as well as the three progressives, agreed with the request. The two most conservatives, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, voted. Conservative Judge Neil Gorsacs did not participate, apparently because he had dealt with this case when serving in a lower court.
“We conclude that the accusing authority has violated its constitutionally guaranteed obligation to correct a wrong testimony,” said progressive judge Sonia Sotomagior, expressing the majority of the Supreme Court.
Barry Van Triz, the owner of Motel, was assassinated by his 19 -year -old employee Justin Snid. The latter, who was addicted to methamphetamine, was sentenced to life imprisonment after being guilty and pointed out as a moral perpetrator Richard Glossip, claiming that he had given him $ 10,000 to commit the crime. The gloss only admitted that he helped Snid cover up the crime after his commitment, but to this day he knew that he knew that the 19 -year -old was planning to kill his boss or that he urged him to do so.
Being in prison, Justin Snid was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and a lithium. But when he testified in the trial of the globe, he lied, assuring that he had never consulted a psychiatrist. The prosecutors then did not correct him, as they owed.
The request for a second trial was also supported by the State Attorney General, Gentner Dramont, a very rare event. However, in 2023 the appeal was rejected by the Oklahoma Court of Appeal. Prosecutor and defense lawyers then joined the Supreme Court, which suspended the execution of the gloss (scheduled for May 2023) and agreed to examine the case.
The execution of Richard Glossip had been scheduled nine times so far. Indeed, in three of them, the execution was suspected while the convict had already eaten his “last meal”.
