Richard Glossip

Richard Glossip is a former hotel manager who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in Oklahoma in 1998 for the murder of his boss, Barry Van Treese. Glossip maintained his innocence and claimed that he was framed by the actual killer, Justin Sneed, who was a maintenance worker at the hotel where Glossip worked. Sneed had confessed to the murder and implicated Glossip as the mastermind behind the crime.

Despite there being no physical evidence linking Glossip to the crime, and Sneed's inconsistent testimony, Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death... TWICE.  His case gained national attention and drew the support of prominent activists, organizations, and Oklahoma Legislators.  Multiple appeals were made, but Glossip's conviction was upheld by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.

Despite the new evidence, Glossip's conviction was once again upheld by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in 2017. He remains on death row, and his case continues to be a contentious issue in the debate over the death penalty and wrongful convictions.

However, it is important to note that the case remains ongoing, and advocacy groups and supporters continue to work towards clearing Glossip's name and securing his release. 

The Reed Smith Reports:

1. Final Report [June 7, 2022]

2. Report Summary [July 21, 2022]

3. Supplemental Report [August 9, 2022]

4. 2nd Supplemental Report [August 20, 2022]

5. 3rd Supplemental Report [September 18, 2022]

6. 4th Supplemental Report [October 16, 2022]

7. 5th Supplemental Report [March 27, 2023]

As of April 6, 2023 - The Oklahoma Attorney General has requested the conviction be vacated and remanded to the District Court after careful review and report by Independent Counsel Rex Duncan.

As of April 24, 2023 - Glossip's Attorneys have filed an action with the Oklahoma County District Court for Declaratory Judgment against the Oklahoma Pardon & Parole Board to prevent the April 26, 2023 Clemency Hearing from being conducted with fewer than 5 members.  The hearing went on despite the action, resulting in Glossip's due process rights being violated... AGAIN.

As of May 5, 2023 - The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a stay of execution pending their decision of whether or not to hear Glossip's pending writ of 

On October 9, 2024, oral arguments were heard by the Supreme Court of the United States [SCOTUS] requesting his conviction be vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct, due process violations, Brady & Napue violations, as well as perjury subjorned by prosectors from the government's key witness.

• Signed Bill of Particulars in 1997

• Failed to properly supervise his assistant DAs

• Lead prosecutor in the 1998 trial - Conviction was reversed on direct appeal by the OCCA.

• Brady Violation - Failed to preserve/disclose Sinclair Tapes

• Brady Violation  - Failed to preserve/disclose polygraph examination results (dispute exists as to if examination even actually occurred).

• OKC Detective reports the "ADA" ordered the destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence in 1999.

• Brady Violation - withheld notes indicating Sneed did not want to testify in 2003 found in "Box 8".

• Brady Violation - Failed to preserve/disclose Sinclair Tapes

• Giglio Violation - Impeachment evidence towards witness, Cliff Everhart, withheld from defense (found in "Box 8").

• Suborned Perjury from Justin Sneed - the "Gina Walker Memo" was withheld from defense, indicated prosecution wanted Sneed to "fix" his testimony to align with medical examiner's testimony.

• Napue Violation -  failed to correct Sneed's testimony about lithium prescription.

• Brady Violation - failed to disclose Sneed's mental health diagnosis to defense.

• Giglio Violation - Failed to disclose impeachment evidence obtained in an interview with Bill Sunday (found in "Box 8").

• Giglio Violation -  Failed to disclose impeachment evidence obtained in an interview with Kayla Pursey (found in "Box 8").

• Cooperated in the independent Glossip case investigations, however, he mistakenly believed "Discovery was already done by the time I came onto the case." - Discovery is ongoing and it is imperative to disclose Brady or Giglio evidence at ANY stage.

• Witness Intimidation outlined in a 2015 Notice filed with the OCCA.

• Brady Violation -  Withholding boxes 1-7 from defense during his tenure as District 7 Attorney.

• Per Glossip's direct appeal (D-1998-948) petition of error, she represented the State of Oklahoma in an evidentiary hearing on October 8, 1999 in defense of Fern Smith's failure to file victim impact statements for review prior Glossip's first trial, resulting in a dispute as to whether or not an in camera hearing occurred.  Sharrock maintained that the hearing did occur and that the district court record was inaccurate, although she lacked any personal knowledge of events, and failed to provide any reliable evidence that such a hearing occurred.

• Signed Bill of Particulars for 2004 Re-Trial

• Failed to properly supervise his assistant DAs

• Exercised dominion over boxes 1-7 in 2022 - Continued to withhold evidence from defense.

• Directed an AAG  create "Box 8" in 2022 in effort to disguise Brady Material as attorney "work product" - resulting in multiple Brady and Napue violations as well as violations of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct.

• Failed to disclose he was a employer/mentor to Connie Smothermon responsible for instilling a fidelity to the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct applicable to prosecutors.

• Failed to recuse pursuant to Rule 2.11(A) from Glossip's 2015 and 2022 applications for post-conviction relief

• OCCA inadequately responded to Glossip's request for recusal of Clerk Seth Branham, causing Glossip's 2022 applications for post-conviction rulings to be of questionable authority.