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Death Row Inmate's Attorneys Say They Have New Evidence

Oklahoma DOC

Attorneys for an Oklahoma death row inmate say new evidence supports his claim of innocence.

Richard Glossip will be executed Wednesday for the 1997 slaying of his boss, Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese. Glossip’s attorneys said maintenance man Justin Sneed lied about being hired to kill the Van Treese and won't come forward because he's worried about a harsher sentence.

They also claimed police interrogated Sneed with techniques proven to elicit false statements, and said witnesses testified he had a bad drug habit.

"People get very paranoid and mean when they're high on methamphetamine, and he said, 'I'll shoot someone or even beat someone to death if it keeps other people from telling,'" said attorney Don Knight.

Gov. Mary Fallin's spokesman Alex Weintz said the jury made the right call.

"Nothing that they've presented makes us think anything other than Richard Glossip is guilty," Weintz said.

Glossip's attorneys said testimony indicates the motel's maintenance man bragged to fellow prison inmates about setting Glossip up. They're asking for a 60-day stay of execution so they can gather more evidence.

Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said it’s just part of a campaign to abolish the death penalty.

"If there's anything I see in all of the boxes of evidence and the video tapes ... or anything that you provide to me that causes me any concern about Mr. Glossip's guilt, I will call the governor's office and beg her to give him a stay," Prater said.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.