Supreme Court overturns Oklahoma death row inmate’s murder conviction, grants new trial

U.S. Supreme Court. / Credit: PT Hamilton/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Feb 25, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that condemned Oklahoma death row prisoner Richard Glossip be given a new trial amid concerns that he may have been wrongfully convicted of arranging an assassination nearly three decades ago.

In a 5-3 decision, the nation’s highest court said prosecutors had “violated [their] constitutional obligation to correct false testimony” in the trial that led to Glossip’s murder conviction in 1998. 

Glossip was convicted that year for allegedly ordering Justin Sneed to murder the owner of a hotel Glossip himself managed. The owner was found bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat. Sneed, who worked as a handyman at the hotel, confessed to killing the man and alleged that Glossip had ordered the hit; Sneed himself is currently serving a life sentence. 

Sneed’s testimony was the decisive factor in convicting Glossip. But prosecutors failed to disclose at trial that Sneed suffered from a psychiatric disorder and was prescribed lithium; they also allowed Sneed to falsely testify at trial that he had never seen a psychiatrist. 

“Because Sneed’s testimony was the only direct evidence of Glossip’s guilt, the jury’s assessment of Sneed’s credibility was material and necessarily determinative,” the Supreme Court said this week. 

“Correcting Sneed’s lie would have undermined his credibility and revealed his willingness to lie under oath,” the court noted.

A “new trial is the appropriate remedy” for the violation, the ruling directed. 

The state of Oklahoma had backed Glossip in his efforts to secure a new trial. Oklahoma Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond has admitted that the state had erred in sentencing Glossip to death. 

The state asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to overturn Glossip’s conviction and grant him a new trial. That court in April 2023 refused to do so, however, and ordered Glossip’s execution to proceed. Drummond at the time called that decision “remarkable and remarkably flawed.”

On Tuesday, Drummond’s office said in a statement that “a great injustice has been swept away.”

“Our justice system is greatly diminished when an individual is convicted without a fair trial,” Drummond said.

“I am pleased the high court has validated my grave concerns with how this prosecution was handled, and I am thankful we now have a fresh opportunity to see that justice is done.”

Glossip has also received support from prominent Catholics. Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City last year told CNA that the Supreme Court’s agreement to review Glossip’s case “offers hope in furthering the cause toward one day abolishing the death penalty.”

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley preaches during Mass in the cathedral in 2021. Credit: Archdiocese of Oklahoma City

On Tuesday Coakley said via a media release that “prayers for an end to capital punishment received a boost” with the court’s ruling.

The ruling “[cast] new light on [Glossip’s] case from 2004 and hopefully on this inhumane method of punishment,” the archbishop said. 

There is “reason for optimism that this case could shift momentum toward abolishing capital punishment in our state, which holds the highest execution rate per capita in the U.S.,” the prelate added.

Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, the executive director of Catholic Mobilizing Network, similarly said in 2023 that Glossip “should not be put to death … not ever.”

“No state should have the power to take the lives of its citizens,” she said at the time. “As we see in Mr. Glossip’s case, the system is too broken, too cruel, too disrespecting of human dignity.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Murphy said the decision was “a welcome and celebratory moment in Mr. Glossip’s case.”

The case “has captured the nation’s attention because it shines a spotlight on so much of the brokenness in our death penalty system,” she argued.

“It is my prayer that Mr. Glossip’s opportunity for a new trial will enable the state of Oklahoma to prioritize a vision of justice that is rooted in healing, wholeness, and repair — rather than vengeance and retribution,” she said.