OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted Wednesday to deny clemency for death row inmate Richard Glossip.

Richard Glossip has been on death row for 25 years for the murder of Barry Van Treese.

The case goes back to 1997, when Glossip and Justin Sneed were convicted of killing Glossip’s boss and owner of the Best Budget Inn, Barry Van Treese.

Barry Van Treese and his family
Barry Van Treese and his family

Although Sneed confessed to beating and killing Van Treese with a bat, Sneed testified that Glossip hired him to kill Van Treese.

In exchange for his testimony, Sneed was given a life sentence. Glossip was sentenced to death.

After decades of incarceration and almost 10 delays of execution, Glossip’s current execution date is set for May 18.

With Wednesday’s clemency denial, that date stands firm.

The vote was 2-2 with one board member recusing himself because his spouse is a prosecutor who had previous involvement in Glossip’s case.

So, why does that mean the board will not recommend Gov. Kevin Stitt grant clemency to Glossip?

According to the Pardon and Parole Board, each member of the board votes individually and a majority vote of three is required for a favorable recommendation.

If the Pardon and Parole Board denies an offender parole, a violent offender will not be considered for another three to five years.

There is no way to appeal the board’s decision, and Stitt would have needed the board’s recommendation in order to grant clemency.

Glossip’s attorneys still have a pending petition before the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt his execution and they filed a motion in state district court asking a judge to prevent his execution from being carried out until a full five-member clemency panel can review his case.

Earlier this year, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that he wanted Glossip’s execution pushed back until after August 2024, in order for an independent counsel to complete its comprehensive review of Glossip’s case, conviction and sentence.

Glossip’s attorneys also filed for post-conviction relief, saying he did not receive a fair trial and the State did not adequately prove his involvement in Van Treese’s murder.

Last week, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals denied the request for a stay of execution and a new trial.

The court ruled that Glossip’s team did not provide anything “extraordinarily new” in the affidavit, and said the information was “insufficient to cause this Court to believe that Glossip is factually innocent.”