Bending the Arc

Late last month, the Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip. Mr. Glossip’s case attracted broad support after the state’s top law enforcement official revealed prosecutorial misconduct. What’s even more incredible about this case is that Glossip had been scheduled for execution nine times. He was hours from being executed in 2015 when prison officials discovered they had received the wrong lethal drug, a mistake that led in part to a six-year moratorium on executions in the state. Read the full story here: https://archive.ph/HjiHm 

In response to the overturning of Mr. Glossip’s execution, Abraham Bonowitz, Executive Director of Death Penalty Action, issued a powerful statement for us all to think about. He wrote, “Richard Glossip had three last meals. We must not forget how close he has been to an execution. The courts in Oklahoma were perfectly fine with killing Richard Glossip. Numerous others have been executed with evidence of innocence even more compelling. This is a remarkable rebuke to the ideas that new evidence is irrelevant and there comes a time when finality is more important than getting it right.

However, the truth is that for this moment to come, it took a film to catch the eye of someone with the ear of right wing pro-death penalty legislators who put their careers on the line once they understood the truth. It took numerous long-form journalists writing about this case over the years.  It took massive resources, including a private law firm tasking dozens of lawyers reviewing every shred of evidence in the case. It took unusual voices like those pro-death penalty legislators, Dr. Phil, the pro-execution Oklahoma Attorney General and at least one major political donor influencing whether that AG would even take the meeting ("you are the only reason I'm here," said OK AG Gentner Drummond). Truly, it took an alignment of the stars.

Good for Richard Glossip and his family. We applaud and congratulate the legal team and everyone involved in reaching this moment. But we must also ask, what will it take for every other death-sentenced prisoner with a reasonable innocence claim to get a similar level of intense scrutiny?  How many innocents have been killed or will be killed because no filmmaker happened upon their case?  What is there for Rocky Myers, Toferest Johnson, Thomas Lane and others in Alabama, Anthony Apanovitch and the Lucasville Five in Ohio, Tommy Ziegler in Florida, David Wood, Rodney Reed and others in Texas, etc?

Some will say this proves the system works, but that's the wrong lens.  It proves the system is broken, but less so if you get lucky and attract the massive support necessary to overcome injustice. Given that, how long will we allow executions?  We must abolish the death penalty. Just sayin'.”

You are encouraged to follow the work of Death Penalty Action. Sign petitions, call Governor’s offices, join prayer vigils. HELP ABOLISH THE SENSELESS, INHUMANE, UNJUST DEATH PENALTY.