IN-DEPTH: Capital Punishment Advocates and Opponents Fighting to Save Oklahoma Death Row Inmate

According to Mr. Knight, the entire process has been plagued with problems. He said that after Mr. Glossip’s first conviction was reversed due to ineffective legal counsel, but before the second trial began in 1999, a box containing ten items of evidence was destroyed. He said these items would have contained fingerprints, DNA, or other evidence to determine if Mr. Glossip was involved in the murder.

Lea Glossip, wife of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip and television personality Dr. Phil McGraw address a May 9, 2023 rally for Glossip at the state capitol in Oklahoma City. Michael Clements/The Epoch Times

On Jan. 7, 1997, Barry Van Treese, 54, was beaten to death in room 102 of the Best Budget Inn, a motel he owned in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

His murderer, Justin Sneed, was a 19-year-old bipolar methamphetamine addict and maintenance man at the motel. Mr. Sneed avoided the death penalty by pleading guilty in 1998 and implicating his supervisor, Richard Glossip, in the crime. According to Mr. Sneed, Mr. Glossip hired him to kill Mr. Van Treese to cover up embezzlement and mismanagement by Mr. Glossip so he could take over the business.