Illinois man to be executed in Oklahoma scrutinizes evidence

Source: Associated Press

Illinois man to be executed in Oklahoma scrutinizes evidence
Updated 3:24 pm, Sunday, August 16, 2015

GALESBURG, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois man scheduled to be executed next month in Oklahoma for his role in a 1997 killing is raising questions about his case, telling a newspaper in his hometown that Oklahoma is going to "kill an innocent man."

Richard Eugene Glossip, born and raised in Galesburg, Illinois, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 16 for the beating death of Barry Van Treese, who managed the Oklahoma City motel where Glossip once worked. Glossip has maintained his innocence after having been convicted and sentenced to death by two juries. In his final weeks, he's pushing petitions to stop the execution, according to an interview with The (Galesburg) Register-Mail.

"The one thing about it is, no matter what they use, no matter what method they use, the fact is they're gonna kill an innocent man," he told the newspaper from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. "Even if I have to be executed, I want my death to mean something. I want it to stop this from happening to anybody else."

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said she has seen more calls for a delay since actress Susan Sarandon, who played a death penalty opponent in the movie "Dead Man Walking," asserted earlier this month that Glossip was innocent. The woman Sarandon portrayed in the movie, Sister Helen Prejean, has been Glossip's spiritual adviser. Both women have urged Fallin to delay the execution so attorneys can have more time to gather evidence that could potentially clear him.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Illinois-man-to-be-executed-in-Oklahoma-6447500.php