(Washington) The United States Supreme Court on Friday granted a reprieve to a soon-to-be executed death row inmate whose case has sparked a campaign of support from the pope to Hollywood stars like Susan Sarandon.
Richard Glossip, 60, was to be executed by lethal injection on May 18 in Oklahoma, but the country’s highest court has put it on hold while it considers the case.
The stay comes after the state’s attorney general, a Republican, asked the court, uncharacteristically, to stay the execution, citing issues of trial fairness.
The detainee, who claims his innocence, was convicted of having ordered the murder of the owner of a motel he managed in 1997, on the basis of a very controversial testimony.
He is accused of having recruited a 19-year-old young man, Justin Sneed, who confessed to the homicide.
Supporters of Richard Glossip denounce the fact that his conviction was based on the sole testimony of Justin Sneed who, by pleading guilty and involving him, was able to avoid the death penalty for himself and negotiated a prison sentence. perpetuity.
He benefits from a support campaign bringing together personalities such as actress Susan Sarandon, actor Mark Ruffalo or billionaire Richard Branson.
In 2015, when his execution seemed imminent, the representative of Pope Francis in the United States wrote a letter addressed to the governor of Oklahoma at the time, asking him to stay the execution.
His story was the subject of a four-part documentary series titled Killing Richard Glossip.