Richard Glossip: Q&A with former State Rep. Kevin McDugle on new trial decision

In an interview with News 9, former state representative Kevin McDugle expressed his elation over the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant Richard Glossip a new trial, emphasizing the importance of addressing flaws within the Oklahoma justice system.

READ MORE: Richard Glossip's Murder Conviction, Death Row Sentence Thrown Out By Supreme Court

What’s your reaction to the high court granting Richard a new trial?

A: "This is unbelievable. I mean, praise God for this decision. I'm ecstatic. And this decision, honestly, should have been made by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals. When Attorney General Gentner Drummond saw what we saw and made his decision, they should have stood with him. There was enough evidence in this case, and that’s what we tried to say all along. It should have never taken so long to get to this point. Oklahoma has got to start policing its own."

Have you spoken to Richard about this ruling?

A: "I have not. I have spoken to his attorney, Don Knight, and the team of people that have helped out all along. I mean, we are just overjoyed because I know that I don't believe there's enough evidence to even try him again. I don't believe there was enough evidence back then to even put him on death row. But here it is, 27 years later, and we finally get a decision by the Supreme Court, and we're just very blessed right now."

What does the Attorney General's involvement say about the system, and what needs to change in the Department of Corrections?

A: "Well, this is the second case in a couple of months now that’s been tossed out of the Oklahoma death row. When you look at the Attorney General, he was the third attorney general that looked at this. Our courts have looked at it, our DAs have looked at it, and everyone said there's not enough to see here. The DA that actually tried the case in Oklahoma City said there’s no evidence here. There’s no evidence. We need to put him to death. After the Attorney General made his decision, the Court of Criminal Appeals in Oklahoma actually said, ‘Hey, we’re going to go against him and we need to put him to death.’ They do that because of the good old boys club of we can't show any fault in our system. We do have faults in our system, and it’s okay to stand up and admit it. When you admit it, you can correct it. But if you don't admit there's something wrong, you can't correct it. I'm hoping that we can actually make some corrections there."

What’s your message to Barry Van Treese’s family in light of this ruling?

A: "I have no doubt that the person who murdered Barry Van Treese is in prison today, and he’s the one that should have been on death row. The DA back then decided that instead of putting to death the person that killed Barry Van Treese, they would take two people down for whatever reason. They got it right that the other guy is the murderer. Richard Glossip should have never been there. I feel for the Barry Van Treese family. I hate that they had to go through this. They should have never been dragged through this. It was actually the DA that was fighting for the murder of Richard Glossip by putting him on death row."