A death row inmate could be set to avoid execution for a fourth time, after a motion was filed by the attorney general of Oklahoma.
Richard Glossip, 60, has spent more than 25 years behind bars for ordering the killing of his boss Barry Van Treese in 1997.
Van Treese, who was the owner of a hotel he worked at, was beaten to death by handyman Justin Sneed.
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Sneed, who pleaded guilty in court, said he only carried out the brutal attack because Glossip promised to pay him $10,000 (£8,000).
Sneed is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Glossip, who has always maintained his innocence, was due to be executed on 18 May.
However, in an unusual move Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond has filed a motion for a stay of execution.
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Drummond says he does not believe Glossip is innocent, but says the trial he had was ‘unfair and unreliable’.
If the Supreme Court grants the stay of execution, it will be the fourth time Glossip has narrowly missed death.
Last month, Oklahoma’s state parole board voted against clemency for Glossip.
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Speaking via video from death row, Glossip told the board he was innocent and that he ‘didn’t deserve to die’ for it.
He tearfully said: “I would never have thought about paying anybody to commit a crime. I absolutely did not cause Justin Sneed to commit any crime against Mr. Van Treese, let alone to murder him.
“I’m not a murderer and I don’t deserve to die for this.”
After the hearing, Drummond issued a statement expressing his disappointment at the board’s decision.
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“Public confidence in the death penalty requires that these cases receive the highest standard of reliability,” he said.
“While the state has not questioned the integrity of previous death penalty cases, the Glossip conviction is very different. I believe it would be a grave injustice to execute an individual whose trial conviction was beset by a litany of errors.”
Van Treese’s widow Donna and son Derek requested that the board deny his appeal for clemency.
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Derek said he was frustrated by the years of delays in the case.
“This case has been pushed from being a legal matter to a political issue. It’s been pushed from the court of law to the court of public opinion,” he said.
“All due diligence has been served. Two juries - 24 members of the public - listened to the same evidence. Both juries have found Richard Glossip to be guilty of these charges and rendered the same sentencing.”
Claire Reid