OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip is asking to have his clemency hearing voided.
Last week, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 2-2 on granting Glossip clemency.
A majority vote is required to grant clemency and reduce Glossip's sentence, and the tie vote prevents Governor Kevin Stitt from granting clemency.
Although, Stitt said in press conference Friday, he doesn't see himself granting Glossip clemency even if he had the opportunity.
“I’ve stayed his execution once or twice already, so no I don’t see that," Stitt said. "We wanted to let the court system play out. Unless the courts act or there's new evidence brought before the courts, we are going to follow the law.”
Glossip filed the request as an amendment to the lawsuit he filed two days before the clemency hearing, which can be read here.
“The State of Oklahoma has already agreed that Richard Glossip was denied a fair trial and, to add further insult to his constitutional rights, he has now been denied a fair clemency hearing,” said his attorney, Don Knight. “The Board’s split decision is precisely the outcome this lawsuit sought to avoid, and it underscores the grave injustice of allowing Rich’s execution to proceed without a proper clemency hearing before a fully constituted Board.”
- Previous coverage >>> Richard Glossip asks Supreme Court for stay of execution
Glossip and his attorney say the death-row inmate deserves a clemency hearing with five impartial members of the board. Board member Smothermon recused himself from the vote due to a conflict of interest — leading to the 2-2 vote.
Glossip's attorney said they aim to prevent the Oklahoma Department of Corrections from executing Glossip until he “is afforded a constitutional Clemency Hearing conducted by five impartial appointed or duly acting/substitute Members of the OPPB secured pursuant to revisions to 57 O.S. § 332.2 of the Oklahoma Statutes and Section 515 of the OAC or other statutory provisions under Oklahoma law," the new filing reads.
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