Death penalty opponents react to Supreme Court decision in Glossip case

A 5 to 3 Supreme Court decision, overturning Oklahoma's original conviction and death sentence of Richard Glossip in a 1997 murder, came as a surprise even for those asking for relief.

Death penalty opponents are praising the decision, arguing it should be an example for how other cases are treated.

Lack of faith in a fair trial

The central argument behind the Supreme Court's decision, and those who supported it, is the right to a fair trial. Oklahoma's Attorney General previously filed a brief in support of Richard Glossip, and in a press conference again on Tuesday, argued Glossip was not given a fair trial; despite Attorney General Gentner Drummond concurrently believing Glossip is guilty.

"If you just now discovered that the state withheld evidence, you should always be able to challenge that," said Don Heath, the Oklahoma Chair of the Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. "I think the important thing about it, other than Richard Glossip may be a free man soon, is that the Supreme Court is not willing just to reject, out of hand, relief from a death row prisoner. They're willing to consider it on the merits and look at the facts of the case. And that's the encouraging thing about it."

Impact on other cases

Abe Bonowitz, the co-founder of Death Penalty Action, said there's some optimism about what this decision means for other death row cases.

"Maybe this can shift things back in the other direction," he said. "Because the direction this country has been in, not just in Oklahoma, but across the country, is finality is more important than making sure that we know all the answers."

For Oklahoma's part, Heath said, and the Supreme Court noted, that involvement from Oklahoma's Attorney General was central to the high court assuming its position; which is why Heath does not expect this to become regular practice for every case.

"They didn't step out from their other decisions in doing this," Heath said, who is also an attorney but does not have criminal law background.

Bonowitz and Heath believe it should never be too late to look at evidence in criminal cases. Both believe it would also be very difficult to bring back together all the witnesses from the original case to try it again. But, the decision to file new charges lies solely with the Oklahoma County District Attorney.