Clemency denied for Oklahoma man sentenced to death for role in murder

A man convicted of masterminding the murder of his boss at an Oklahoma City hotel was denied a chance to avoid the death penalty Friday by the state Pardon and Parole Board.

Richard Eugene Glossip, 51, was convicted of killing Barry Alan Van Treese, owner of the Best Budget Inn, in 1997. Prosecutors said Glossip feared being fired and devised a plot to kill Van Treese. The motel’s maintenance man, Justin Sneed, pleaded guilty to killing Treese. He admitted to bludgeoning him to death in a hotel room and testified against Glossip in exchange for a sentence of life without parole.

The board unanimously denied Glossip’s request for clemency, paving the way for his Jan. 29 lethal injection. Glossip was issued a 60-day stay just hours before his hearing by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals so that the state has time to implement a new execution protocol put in place after the problematic execution of Clayton Derrell Lockett in April.

Glossip’s first conviction was overturned, but he was retried in 2004 and again given the death penalty. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that Glossip had received “a fundamentally fair” trial in 2004.

Attorneys representing Glossip at the clemency hearing pointed to several facets of his trial they say were objectionable, most notably the fact that evidence against Glossip was circumstantial and relied heavily on Sneed’s testimony.

“The quality of evidence, and to rely on one person...who is a person who admitted to killing Mr. Van Treese. That’s something that I hope gives this board pause,” said attorney Kathleen Lorde.

Glossip’s attorneys also noted the use of posters displaying evidence and quotes from witnesses that the prosecution placed in the courtroom during the trial, which they argued showed content that was inadmissible.

Assistant Attorney General Seth Branham argued that not only did a federal court find Glossip’s trial to be a fair one, it was not before the board to determine whether or not Glossip’s representation was adequate. Branham said those concerns should have been brought up during the appeals process.

“Are we at a clemency hearing, or are we re-litigating the appeals?” Branham asked.

Branham stood by the use of the posters and testimony given by multiple witnesses, attesting that Glossip had power over Sneed, who many said was of low-functioning intelligence.

“We would have loved to have forensic evidence, DNA, that sort of thing, connecting Glossip,” Branham said. “Sometimes you have pure circumstantial cases. Now, in this case, it’s not a pure circumstantial case. You have Justin Sneed, and I would submit to you when you look at the total evidence, this is not a weak case. It all points back to Richard Glossip.”

Choking back tears, Van Treese’s brother, Kenneth Van Treese, told the board how after his brother’s death he took over management of the hotel, and he had to clean the bloody room where his brother was murdered. He asked the board to send his brother’s killer to the death chamber without hesitation.

“Consider clemency, then reject the idea of clemency. It’s a bad idea,” Van Treese said. “If anybody ever deserved to be executed, Richard Glossip deserves it.”

Glossip addressed the board via video from the state penitentiary in McAlester. Glossip, who has all along claimed his innocence, began by expressing condolences to the about one dozen members of the Van Treese family present.

“But, I do also want to say that I did not plan and I did not participate in the death of Mr. Van Treese, and I would have never, ever paid for someone to do anything like that,” Glossip continued.

Board members asked Glossip why he lied to police about Van Treese’s whereabouts after he was made aware by Sneed that Sneed had killed their boss. Glossip said at first he did not believe Sneed, but he was unable to give the board a reason as to why he did not report the crime to police.

With noticeable sadness in her voice, Glossip’s sister, Nancy Ogden, said she was disappointed in the board’s decision when reached by phone Friday. Ogden said she has always believed her brother, who had no prior criminal convictions, to be innocent, adding that given her brother’s demeanor it was more likely Sneed influenced him and not the other way around.

After the hearing, Van Treese’s wife, Donna Van Treese, said justice had been served and she is confident the state’s new execution protocol will work as intended.

“We feel confident the state of Oklahoma will take care of it and have their procedures put in place to do this without it being an inhumane way,” Van Treese said.