Richard Glossip’s scheduled execution was on Sept. 16, the Oklahoma Court of Appeals halted the execution due to new evidence surfacing, according to CNN. Glossip was convicted for the murder of motel owner Barry Van Treese in 1977.
Glossip’s attorneys are trying to convince the appeals court that Glossip did not commit the crime of beating Barry Van Treese to death, but rather the co-defendant Justin Sneed. Sneed confessed to killing Van Tresse, but stated he did so because Glossip hired him.
The execution date was pushed back to Sept. 30 for the court to consider the new evidence.
“Nothing could be connected to tie him to the crime [itself], he knew of the crime,” Gary Lindsey, a professor of history at Oklahoma Christian University said. “If there’s any doubt whatsoever, at all, based on new evidence — valid evidence, then the execution in the state is not warranted because they need to find out without a shadow of a doubt whether he was involved in the crime at all.”
Lindsey said it appears Glossip could be taken off death row.
“I think the stay of execution is definitely appropriate,” Lindsey said. “If there’s new evidence that shows he might not be guilty … then that may be brought to light.”
Lindsey said if an execution is planned then it should be carried out, as long as the person is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.
“The catch is beyond any shadow of a doubt, if someone is guilty of [murdering] another human being, they should be executed. … You’ve just got to be absolutely sure that the person that is being executed is guilty of a crime that’s punishable by execution,” Lindsey said.
There have been cases in the U.S. where the person being executed was found innocent after death. There was a case in 2011 were a man was executed despite evidence stating he might have been innocent, detailed by CNN. It is because of these past events that Glossip’s case should be handled with caution.
According to KOCO, Glossip will be put to death next week. This was an order handed down by Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. The state law requires a new date to be set. The date of the new execution is usually 30 or 60 days later, Glossip was given 14 days.
“It would be tragic to be executed for a crime and then later find out he really was innocent for the reason that he was executed,” Lindsey said. “You can’t undo an execution. That’s why if there’s any doubt whatsoever — they need to be cautious.”
Lindsey said the extension of the punishment shows the human side of government.
“Humans are not perfect; humans are going to make mistakes,” Lindsey said. “When we’re dealing with people’s lives we need to be as certain as possible that they are guilty of whatever they are being charged with.”
Lindsey said because we are human, it brings up a new question about the death penalty.
“I think the question is, should we have the death penalty knowing that we’re not infallible,” Lindsey said. “I think the death penalty should be used very, very, very sternly and very cautiously.”
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