In three days, Oklahoma will execute Richard Glossip, an innocent man—unless we stop it.
The situation is so dire that right now, at this very moment, Richard is in a cell right next to the death chamber.1
The system has failed a good man. But now, after years of totally inadequate legal representation, one of the best death penalty lawyers in the country is working on his case pro bono—and he's uncovered new evidence that could prove Richard's innocence.2
We just need more time. I've teamed up with MoveOn, because it's going to take a groundswell of public outrage to force Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to issue a 60-day stay of execution, and no one can very quickly mobilize hundreds of thousands of people better than MoveOn.
Will you help out with $3?
Yes, I'll chip in and help MoveOn's campaign to save an innocent man's life.
Richard was convicted of murder solely on the testimony of Justin Sneed, who confessed to committing the murder himself, but claimed Richard had hired him to do it. There is no evidence to support this claim—no DNA, no fingerprints, no other witnesses—just Sneed's word. By implicating Richard, Sneed avoided the death penalty and now is serving a life sentence in a medium-security prison.3
Sneed's own daughter wrote to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board last October to say that she "strongly believe[s]" Richard is innocent. "For a couple of years now, my father has been talking to me about recanting his original testimony," she wrote. She feels her father's conscience is "getting to him."4
While Richard's lawyers are fighting around-the-clock to save him in court, MoveOn and I are teaming up in a fight to save him in the court of public opinion—because Oklahoma's governor still has the power to act.
Will you chip in $3 to help MoveOn fight for Richard's life?
Yes, I'll chip in to help MoveOn stop the execution of an innocent man.
Richard, like others before him who were wrongly convicted, didn't have the money to hire lawyers who could prove his innocence in court.
Our system is just not fair: You can't get a decent shake because of how much money you have or the color of your skin. It's heartbreaking, but 10 men on death row in Oklahoma alone have been exonerated in the past 35 years.5
We need to fight to the end to save Richard. And then, no matter what happens, we need to fight to change the system.
Last week, Sister Helen Prejean, who I played in the movie "Dead Man Walking," delivered a MoveOn.org petition signed by a quarter of a million people, asking Gov. Fallin to issue Richard a 60-day stay. But the governor hasn't budged. So now, MoveOn will flood the governor's office with phone calls and ramp up pressure on her through the media. And after that, MoveOn will fight for criminal justice reform that will finally start to fix a broken system that could put an innocent man to death.
Will you help out with $3?
Click here to chip in to help save Richard and fix a broken criminal justice system.
Together, we have to do everything we can to fight for Richard's life—and a more just criminal justice system.
Thanks for all you do.
–Susan Sarandon
Sources:
1. "Susan Sarandon Tries to Save a Man from Death Row," Dr. Phil, August 31, 2015
http://www.drphil.com/shows/page/richard_glossip/
2. "New Evidence in Glossip case will be presented Monday, September 14 by Legal Defense Team Member Don Knight," The City Sentinel, September 12, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307105&id=132119-10220574-GBKZYkx&t=2
3. "Is Oklahoma About to Execute an Innocent Man?" Letter from Sen. Tom Coburn et al to Governor Mary Fallin, The Huffington Post, September 11, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307106&id=132119-10220574-GBKZYkx&t=3
"What Happened in Room 102: Oklahoma Prepares to Execute Richard Glossip," The Intercept, July 9, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307104&id=132119-10220574-GBKZYkx&t=4
4. "Clemency letter from O'Ryan Justine Sneed," October 23, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=306051&id=132119-10220574-GBKZYkx&t=5
5. "Don't put to death an innocent man," CNN, September 12, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=307107&id=132119-10220574-GBKZYkx&t=6
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