Entries tagged with “Gentner Drummond”
Policy Issues
Mental Illness
,Apr 02, 2024
Following Stay of Execution, Oklahoma Court Finds Death-Sentenced Prisoner Incompetent to Be Executed Due to Serious Mental Illness
On March 28, Judge Michael Hogan of Pittsburg County ruled that James Ryder is incompetent to be executed after a hearing where experts established Mr. Ryder’s serious mental illness. “[We are] relieved the court reached the only logical conclusion… James has no rational understanding of why Oklahoma plans to execute him,” said Mr. Ryder’s attorney, Emma Rolls, following the decision. “James has suffered from schizophrenia for nearly 40 years and has little connection to objective reality.”…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,United States Supreme Court
,May 07, 2024
In Amicus Briefs, Conservative Officials, Oklahoma Lawmakers, and Civil Rights Groups are United in Urging the U.S. Supreme Court to Vacate Richard Glossip’s Conviction
On April 30, 2024, a week after the parties in Glossip v. Oklahoma filed merits briefs at the United States Supreme Court, several amici filed briefs in support of the parties’ joint position, asking the Court to grant Richard Glossip (pictured) a new trial. Ken Cuccinelli, the former Virginia Attorney General and Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump, said in his brief that the consequences of failing to overturn Mr. Glossip’s conviction are “most dire.”…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Clemency
,Upcoming Executions
,Jan 27, 2023
Oklahoma Attorney General Appoints Special Counsel to Conduct ‘Thorough Review’ of Richard Glossip’s Case
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has appointed a special counsel to conduct a ‘thorough review’ of the case of death-row prisoner Richard Glossip, who has faced nine execution dates despite strong evidence that he is innocent of the 1997 alleged murder-for-hire of an Oklahoma City motel owner. In a news release issued January 26, 2023, two days after the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals rescheduled Glossip’s execution from…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,United States Supreme Court
,Jul 10, 2023
Oklahoma Attorney General Files SCOTUS Brief in Support of Richard Glossip
On July 5, 2023, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond (pictured) filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of death row prisoner Richard Glossip’s petition for a writ of certiorari. The Innocence Project and six legal scholars have also filed briefs in support of Mr. Glossip, while the victim’s family and the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association have filed a brief in…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Apr 07, 2023
Oklahoma Attorney General Moves to Vacate the Murder Conviction of Richard Glossip
On April 6, 2023, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond asked the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to vacate Richard Glossip’s conviction and death sentence and to remand the case to the District Court for further proceedings. He cited the U.S. Supreme Court’s admonition that the prosecutor’s interest is “not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Executions Overview
,Jan 24, 2023
Oklahoma Court Grants Attorney General’s Motion to Slow State’s Execution Spree
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) has reset the state’s execution schedule, slowing down the pace at which the 25-person execution spree it authorized in July 2022 would move…
Executions
May 10, 2024
Oklahoma Court Modifies Execution Scheduling Process, Granting Attorney General’s Request to Extend the Interval Between Executions But Choosing to Set Execution Dates Individually
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled on May 7 to extend the interval between executions to occur approximately 90-days apart, specifying that executions should be scheduled for Thursdays, and that the Department of Corrections must be provided notice at least 35 days in advance. The Court also denied the Attorney General’s motion to set execution dates for groups of prisoners, as has been done in the past, instead choosing to schedule executions…
Policy Issues
Mental Illness
,Jan 08, 2024
Oklahoma Court Stays Scheduled Execution Pending Evaluation of Seriously Mentally Ill Prisoner
On December 22, 2023, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued a 100-day stay of execution to carry out a mental competency hearing for James Ryder, who was scheduled to be executed on February 1, 2024. Mr. Ryder’s attorneys have argued for years that he is not competent to face execution, citing long standing mental illness that has worsened throughout his incarceration. Several psychologists have diagnosed Mr. Ryder with paranoid schizophrenia and concluded he is not competent to face…
Executions
Upcoming Executions
,Apr 04, 2024
Oklahoma Set to Carry Out Its First Execution of 2024, Attorney General Told to “Man Up” in Response to Concerns About Pace of Executions
Oklahoma is scheduled to execute Michael Smith on April 4, the state’s first execution of 2024. Convicted in 2003 for the separate 2002 murders of Janet Moore and Sharath Babu Pulluru in Oklahoma County, Mr. Smith has spent the last 21 years on death row. Following his arrest, Mr. Smith confessed to his involvement in these killings to the police, but now says that he “was high on drugs” during his interrogation and does not “even remember getting…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Upcoming Executions
,Aug 08, 2023
Pro-Death Penalty Oklahoma Lawmaker Calls on Attorney General to Retest DNA Evidence for Prisoners on Death Row Where Accuracy is a Concern
UPDATE: On August 8, 2023, the Oklahoman reported that AG Drummond has declined Representative Humphrey’s request to retest DNA evidence in Anthony Sanchez’s…
Policy Issues
Innocence
,Prosecutorial Accountability
,United States Supreme Court
,Jan 22, 2024
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Richard Glossip’s Appeal: High-Profile Innocence Case Where the State Supports Relief
On January 22, the Supreme Court granted certiorari to Richard Glossip, sentenced to death in Oklahoma, whose innocence case has received international attention. Mr. Glossip’s execution had been scheduled for May 18, 2023, before the Court issued a stay on May 5 pending the outcome of his petitions for certiorari. Mr. Glossip’s case is unusual in that the State of Oklahoma conceded error and supports his request for a new trial. However, Mr. Glossip was forced to petition the Supreme Court…