OKLAHOMA CITY—Anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean told a group of about 35 people in the Oklahoma State Capital that the state couldn’t be trusted with the power to execute people.
“In that governor’s hand is the power of life and death. We have got to end this; they can’t handle it,” Prejean said.
Prejean is a well-known death penalty abolitionist. The true story of her work with convicted murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, “Dead Man Walking,” inspired a 1995 film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon.
The Roman Catholic nun was speaking to a group demanding that Gov. Kevin Stitt grant a 60-day reprieve for death row inmate Richard Glossip who is scheduled for execution on May 18.
Glossip and Justin Sneed were convicted of the 1997 murder of their employer Barry Van Treese.
According to court records, Sneed was sentenced to life without parole as part of a plea deal in which he agreed to testify against Glossip.
The demonstrators ranged from staunch death penalty opponents to pro-capital punishment conservatives who believe Glossip was denied a fair trial. Republican State Rep. Kevin McDugle places himself in the latter category.
McDugle told The Epoch Times he was initially skeptical of Glossip’s supporters, including Justin Jackson, the Clayton, Oklahoma businessman who first told him of the case. However, as he learned more details, his skepticism waned.
McDugle got a coalition of 34 Oklahoma legislators from both parties to appoint a special counsel to investigate Glossip’s case. He said he didn’t want to prove Glossip’s guilt or innocence.
“If he’s guilty, I want to know it. I want [investigators] to follow the facts and give me the truth,” McDugle said.
The Philadelphia-based law firm of Reed Smith LLP also investigated the Glossip case. It issued a more than 300-page report that matched the special counsel’s findings. Both claimed to have uncovered new evidence, including evidence of mistakes and prosecutor misconduct.
McDugle said the report shows that prosecutors coached Sneed to change his testimony. He claims the report contains a signed affidavit from a police officer who says he was told to destroy physical evidence and recantation letters from Sneed.
“If even 10 percent of this is true, we’ve potentially got an innocent man on death row,” McDugle said.
Carolyn Pappas of Yukon, Oklahoma, joined the demonstrators because she wanted to know the truth. Like many Oklahomans, Pappas accepted that innocent people would not be put on death row. But as Glossip’s case gained notoriety, Pappas began to wonder.
“Our legal system isn’t perfect,” she told The Epoch Times.
Pappas said she respects the law but is more concerned about a higher law. She said it’s essential that citizens speak up when the state is wrong.
“If we get involved as citizens, then maybe the law can change,” Pappas said.
In a history-making move, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond asked the Pardon and Parole Board at its April 27 hearing to stay Glossip’s execution. Drummond, who was not in office when Glossip was convicted, said the state denied Glossip a fair trial.
Prejean said she was amazed at Drummond’s actions.
“That’s unheard of. That really speaks volumes to the Supreme Court,” Prejean said.
The Court of Criminal Appeals for Oklahoma issued an opinion on April 20 stating that after two trials, five appeals, and two reprieves, the former motel manager had exhausted all his legal options.
Clemency Denied
The Pardon and Parole Board denied Glossip clemency.Neither Drummond’s nor Stitt’s offices responded to requests for comment from The Epoch Times.
The crux of the issue for Glossip’s supporters is courtroom testimony by the confessed killer, Justin Sneed.
In 1997, Sneed was a 19-year-old roofer and methamphetamine addict whom Glossip had hired to do maintenance work at the motel. When he confessed to the murder, Sneed told police Glossip was afraid that Van Treese suspected him of stealing from the motel.
Sneed Got Plea Deal
According to court records, Sneed testified against Glossip to avoid the death penalty. He is serving a life sentence.“We basically paid Justin Sneed to give his testimony,” McDugle said.
McDugle said Reed Smith investigators found that evidence from Room 102, including a shower curtain, Van Treese’s wallet, and other items that Glossip reportedly touched, had been destroyed.
McDugle pointed out that those items would have placed Glossip at the crime scene. He said the evidence was not given to Glossip’s attorneys, and now it is gone.
Drummond Says Witness Unreliable
In his petition, Drummond points out that Sneed testified in court that he had been given Lithium while in jail. He said he had allergies and didn’t know why he was given lithium.According to court records, Sneed was given lithium, a drug often used to treat mental illness, after two psychiatric examinations. In his petition, Drummond writes that this indicates Sneed was an unreliable witness.
McDugle said that Glossip’s only hope is for Stitt, who was out of the state on the day of the demonstration, to approve a 60-day reprieve which would delay the execution and give Glossip’s attorneys time to take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Regardless of how Glossip’s case is settled, McDugle said the matter had brought some serious issues to light.
“We’ve got some central issues in Oklahoma in our judicial system that need to be fixed. The investigators have unearthed a plethora of problems in that process,” McDugle said.
Prejean agreed. She told the demonstrators that their fight must go beyond chanting and holding signs in the capitol. She said they must take their message to their communities and the voting box.
“Our consciences and our hearts demand that we speak up,” Prejean said.
“It’s a new day in Oklahoma. We have a new chance for justice in Oklahoma.”
