Oklahoma has set execution dates nine times for death row inmate Richard Glossip, who has been married twice while awaiting execution. Despite the Supreme Court rejecting his challenge to Oklahoma's lethal injection process nine years ago, Glossip's case has taken an unexpected turn. Oklahoma's Republican attorney general has joined Glossip in seeking to overturn his murder conviction and death sentence in a 1997 murder-for-hire scheme, leading to the Supreme Court hearing arguments on the case.
The review of Glossip's case by the Supreme Court comes at a time when there has been a decline in the use of the death penalty and new death sentences. However, the court's conservative majority has generally been less receptive to efforts to halt executions. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has acknowledged serious mistakes in Glossip's case, calling for a new trial despite not believing in Glossip's innocence.
