The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in the appeal of Richard Glossip, the Oklahoma death row inmate whose execution has been rescheduled nine times.
The case has created an unusual battle between Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general and its highest court that now rests in the hands of eight Supreme Court justices — all but Justice Neil Gorsuch, who is recused.
Glossip, 60, was convicted in 1998 for the murder of his motel owner boss, Barry Van Treese, then sentenced to death. Justin Sneed was the person who actually killed Van Treese, but prosecutors maintained that Glossip paid Sneed to carry out the killing. Sneed had a history of drug abuse and psychiatric problems that was not disclosed to Glossip’s lawyers by prosecutors.
Sneed also told fellow inmates that he acted alone to rob Van Treese with the plan that he and his girlfriend would use the robbery funds to buy drugs. Glossip’s conviction was overturned in 2001 due to ineffective defense counsel, but he was later convicted again — and again sentenced to death.