I urge you, dear readers, to read this and both get involved and spread this post around as much as you can. A man's life hangs in the balance.
The death penalty has been a divisive subject for years. Its roots could arguably be traced back ages when early homo sapiens walked the earth (i.e. threats, real or perceived, that were met with violence and death). The use of crucifixion under the Roman Empire, the use of the electric chair and lethal injection, and even the murders of innocent people during the Salem witch trials are all various examples of the death penalty. It has been deemed necessary when dealing with criminals whose crimes (also real or perceived) are so severe that only putting them to death is deemed as just punishment.
There have been examples when the death penalty has been commuted, and the discovery of DNA several years ago has, at times, be a key element in getting convictions of varying degrees overturned. There are times when people have not only be incarcerated unjustly, but even put to death unnecessarily.
Today, I will highlight one such case. The case of Richard Glossip.
I will be providing links to relevant sites, but I wanted to provide a very brief overview. A murder took place at the Best Budget Inn in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Janaury 7, 1997. The victim was Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Best Budget Inn. The man convicted of the murder is Justin Sneed, who was in charge of maintenance at the inn. The manager, Richard Glossip, was on duty and onsite at the time. Sneed was arrested and charged with Van Treese's murder. Sneed implicated Glossip, saying Glossip had paid him to kill Van Treese.
Justin Sneed is serving a life sentence. Richard Glossip is on death row.
Key points in this case include:
- Deal made by detectives with Sneed for implicating someone else
- Videotape of Sneed's confession, including the offer made by detectives, was never shown to any jury.
- Shoddy defense representation
- Sneed changing his testimony repeatedly
- No physical evidence to support Glossip's involvement
Richard Glossip is scheduled to be executed on September 16. He has been on death row for seventeen years.
I first became aware of this case on a recent episode of the Dr. Phil television show. I am not a regular viewer of his show, but I had seen commercials for the episode that featured actress Susan Sarandon. Sarandon, played Sister Helen Prejean in the very powerful film Dead Man Walking. Both Sarandon and Sister Helen appeared on the episode. Below is that episode in its entirety.
Many of the points covered in the show are in the next link, but I would recommend you give it a read. This is a link to Sister Mary Prejean's blog about Richard Glossip's case. You will see links for signing a petition to Oklahoma's Governor Mary Fallin to give Glossip a stay of execution to allow all of the relevant evidence to come to light, to write to Governor Fallin directly, to write your local newspaper about this case, and more. I would strongly encourage you to scroll down on the site and click on the DOWNLOAD THE TALKING POINTS link for an overview of this case before you continue. Here's the link: Save Richard Glossip's life
There's even a website dedicated to Glossip himself, which includes information about his life and updates on his case. Here's that link: Richard Glossip Is An Innocent Man
One wrongful death does not, and cannot, warrant or justify another wrongful death. Please see everything presented here and get involved. At the very least, I urge you to spread this post as much as you can on various social media. The time is getting closer to September 16, Richard Glossip's scheduled execution date.
An innocent man was killed on January 7, 1997. Don't let another be killed on September 30, 2015. Please help!
Terry
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