A Galesburg native who has been on death row in Oklahoma for more than 25 years will get a new trial.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the murder conviction for Richard E. Glossip, 62, saying the admission of false testimony at the trial violated his constitutional rights.
Glossip was born in Galesburg on Feb. 9, 1963, and attended local schools as a child.
He was convicted twice and sentenced to death in the 1997 killing of Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese in what prosecutors described as a murder for hire scheme.
He was found guilty of paying Justin Sneed to murder Van Treese, who owned Best Budget Inn.
Glossip confessed he helped Sneed conceal the crime after the fact, but he has always maintained his innocence. Amid appeals, he’s had nine execution dates set over the years.
Nearly two decades after his conviction, the state disclosed previously withheld evidence from Glossip’s trial.
The documents show Sneed suffered from bipolar disorder, which combined with known drug use, could have caused impulsive outbursts of violence.
They also showed a jail psychiatrist prescribed lithium to treat Sneed’s bipolar disorder, although Sneed testified during trial he had never seen a psychiatrist.
The state then conceded that Glossip did not get a fair trial because of the false testimony and asked for a new trial, but the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied it.
But the Supreme Court, in the opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayer, reversed the decision and remanded Glossip’s case for a new trial, saying prosecutors have a constitutional obligation to correct false testimony.
The high court’s decision reverses the Oklahoma state court’s decision.
Sotomayor was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson in the opinion.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett joined the opinion in part. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented and was joined by Justices Samuel Alito and Barrett in part.
Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in this case.
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