Death Row Inmate Could Be a Free Man by Christmas

Richard Glossip and the trial of errors.

On 7th January 1997, maintenance man nineteen-year-old Justin Steed beat hotel owner Barry Van Treese to death with a baseball bat. The murder occurred in the Best Budget Inn, Oklahoma City; Von Treese was the hotel's owner.

It wasn't long before Sneed confessed to the murder. He told police that in exchange for avoiding the death penalty, he would give evidence against the man who instructed him to murder Van Treese.

That man was Richard Glossip, the manager of the hotel. Glossip has always maintained his innocence in this case. He refused to plea bargain himself when the case went to trial.

He was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death in July 1997. This would be the start of many legal cases to prove his innocence.

In 2001, the conviction was thrown out on appeal; the court called the evidence against Glossip extremely weak. The case is highly controversial as there is no evidence tying Glossip to the case, only the testimony of Sneed.

However, in 2004, he was again convicted of the crime and put back on death row.

The defence argues

Glossip's legal team stated that at the time of the murder, Sneed was addicted to meth and was caught several times breaking into the parking lot at the hotel to feed his habit.

The defence team has also argued that Glossip's previous representation has been extremely weak. They state that evidence has also not been shared between counsels.

However, what they have found recently will call into question all aspects of the case and could result in Glossip walking free. Sneed may have been coached in his testimony before going to trial by the prosecutor.