Supreme Court Grants Review of Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip's Case

The Supreme Court has decided to take up the case of Oklahoma death row inmate, Richard Glossip, after the state's attorney general argued that his conviction and sentence should not stand due to issues surrounding his trial.

60-year-old Glossip has avoided execution three times, and in April, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond told the state's Pardon and Parole Board that he supports granting clemency for the death row inmate due to concerns about the fairness of Glossip's trial. He cited two independent reviews of the case that suggested that Glossip should receive a new trial. The state parole board, though, voted not to recommend clemency for Glossip.

Although the court rejected the attorney general's request in March, which cleared the way for Glossip's execution in May, Drummond asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals last year to toss out Glossip's conviction and raised concerns about the testimony of a key witness and evidence.

Days before he was scheduled to be put to death, the Supreme Court intervened and blocked the state from executing Glossip while it considered whether to take up his case. The high court will now decide whether due process of law requires reversal of Glossip's conviction given that it is "so infected with errors that the state no longer seeks to defend it," as described in his request for the Supreme Court to review his case. 

Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself from the case. Though a brief order from the court did not include a reason for Gorsuch's recusal, it likely relates to his time as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which covers Oklahoma.

According to John Mills, Glossip's attorney, in a statement, "Mr. Glossip is innocent of the murder for which he faces execution. He has no criminal history, no history of misconduct during his entire time in prison, and has maintained his innocence throughout a quarter century wrongfully on death row. It is past time for his nightmare to be over. The court should reverse the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, which has inexplicably refused to accept the state's confession of error."

Drummond pledged to continuing pursuing justice in Glossip's case, saying in a statement that "public confidence in the death penalty requires the highest standard of reliability, so it is appropriate that the U.S. Supreme Court will review this case."