Target: Gentner Drummond, Oklahoma Attorney General
Goal: Support overturned conviction and new trial for man who has spent nearly three decades on death row.
He has eaten three last meals. He has listened as two men endured agony in what were supposed to be their final moments. And for nearly three decades, Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip has languished on death row for a crime he has sworn he did not commit. While claims of innocence are not necessarily uncommon for long-term prisoners, in this case Glossip is not alone in his protests. He has the backing of multiple legal advocates who have helped him secure three stays of execution, and he even has the support of Oklahoma’s attorney general. This ForceChange petition highlighted Glossip’s long quest for justice. Now, the United States Supreme Court has paved the most consequential fork in this journey yet.
In a five to three decision, the Court tossed out Glossip’s 1997 conviction in an alleged murder-for-hire plot and ordered a new trial for him. The judgment was made on the basis of allegations that prosecutors allowed the star witness in the case (who reportedly later wanted to recant) to give false testimony. The prosecution was also accused of withholding key evidence. The majority opinion read, “Turning to the merits, we conclude that the prosecution violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony.”
Glossip’s case is the latest of 700 documented incidents where a conviction involving capital punishment was overturned due to alleged misconduct from investigators or prosecutors. Sign the petition below to applaud this important victory against deadly miscarriages of justice.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear AG Drummond,
The decades-long fight of death row inmate Richard Glossip demonstrates why the global trend towards abolition of capital punishment is moving at such a rapid pace. Even setting aside the moral implications of knowingly and willfully taking another human being’s life, both advocates and critics of the death penalty can likely agree that an innocent person wrongfully put to death would be one of the greatest miscarriages of justice imaginable. Richard Glossip now has a new opportunity to ensure that another potential grave wrong is righted.
Thank you for your vocal support for a reevaluation of Glossip’s case. This support may have saved an innocent man’s life.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Kindel Media
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