On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted a new trial to Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Grossip.
State lawmakers from both parties, along with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, were sought for tolerance or a new trial.
Most importantly, Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond, of Oklahoma, asked the judiciary to abandon his 2004 conviction and order a retrial.
Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority, and said prosecutors failed to correct false testimony from the star witness, violating Mr. Grossip's due process rights. “Glossip is entitled to a new trial,” she wrote.
Clarence Thomas of Justice, Samuel A. Alito Jr., and Amy Connie Barrett opposed in whole or in part. As a judge of the appeals court, Judge Neil M. Golsch heard about the aspects of the case, and was rejected from there.
Grossip was found guilty of arranging the death of an employer, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel. Two independent investigations questioned his guilt, saying critical evidence was withheld and key testimony was false.
Glossip's beliefs were almost entirely based on the testimony of a state star witness. This is a handyman named Justin Sneed who pleaded guilty to murdering motel owner Barry Van Treese, who defeated him in 1997 with a baseball bat.
In exchange for a life sentence, Snead agreed to testify against Grossip, the motel manager. Snead said Grossip had instructed him to kill Van Tories.
The recently disclosed memo appears to contradict Snead's testimony about whether he was treated by a psychiatrist, indicating that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
“When I was arrested,” Snead testified.
“I don't know why,” he added. “I've never seen a psychiatrist or anything.”
Prosecutor Connie Smother emphasized his testimony. “So you don't know why they gave you that?” she asked. Snead said no.
Grossip and his state lawyers falsely testified about how Snead came to take lithium, saying that Smothermon could not fix him.
They pointed to a newly disclosed note created by Smothermon, which contains two contested phrases. “To lithium?” said the person. “Dr. Trumpet?” another said. The second question was an obvious reference to Dr. Lawrence Tronka, who was the sole psychiatrist at the prison held after the murder.
They said they violated the basic requirements established in two Supreme Court precedents: Brady v. Maryland demands that prosecutors take over potentially expanded evidence, Napwe v.
Judge Sotomayor relied on a second precedent. “We conclude that the prosecutor's failure to amend testimony in Snead's trial violated the due process clause,” she wrote.
