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An Innocent Man is About to Be Put to Death

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I have long abhorred the death penalty. The thought of killing someone for the crime of killing someone else seems so cruelly ironic. My abhorrence only intensified when I learned of a study that showed at least 4.1% of those put to death in America are innocent. When you figure that more than 1,400 people have been put to death in America since 1976, the thought of at least 50 innocent people being murdered for crimes they didn’t commit is terrifying.

Fortunately, some inmates are exonerated before an execution can be carried out, but not before first sacrificing their freedom for years at the hands of an unjust system. As of June 8, 2015, 155 people have been exonerated of the crime that landed them on death row.

One man, Richard Glossip, is fighting to be #156.

Last week, Richard almost lost that chance. He came only three hours away from losing his life for a crime evidence shows he didn’t commit, before the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted him a two-week stay of execution to consider a last-minute petition by his new, pro bono legal team.

But how does a man get convicted of a crime he didn’t commit? In this case, it was actually pretty simple. In exchange for a reduced sentence, a man who admits to murder claims to prosecutors he was hired to do it by Richard. Justin Sneed is currently serving a life sentence for murdering Barry Van Treese—a crime he admits he committed. The first three times that police questioned Sneed, Richard’s name never came up. But when Sneed was given the chance to save his own life in return for pegging Glossip as the mastermind—as detectives manipulated him to do—it was an easy decision.

Since day one, Richard has maintained his innocence. In fact, Richard has been offered a life sentence in exchange for a confession, and twice he has refused to admit to a crime he didn’t commit.

Unfortunately, Richard has been a victim of a system in which those who do not have access to lots of money are often then excluded from access to a competent defense. A public defender with a caseload 500 cases deep is not a competent defense. Crucial evidence was left out of Richard’s trials—including the taped confession of Sneed, in which it was clear to see that the detectives baited him to say Richard hired him to commit the murder. No physical evidence was ever found to connect Richard to the crime. Sneed even bragged in jail about setting Richard up.

Oklahoma has a history of convicting innocent people on the basis of nothing more than “snitch testimony.” Ten Oklahomans have been exonerated from death row, several after being convicted in the same way as Richard, using evidence based solely on the testimony of the true perpetrator of the crime.

More than 240,000 MoveOn members signed a petition by Susan Sarandon and Sister Helen Prejean demanding a stay of execution for Richard, and more than 7,000 called Governor Mary Fallin to send the same message. Top journalists have joined the fight using their platform to provide the truth about this case. Even Sneed’s own daughter has come out and said that she believes her father to be the sole perpetrator of the crime that cost Barry Van Treese his life.

The Oklahoma Court of Appeals heard our requests and granted Richard a two-week stay of execution, but now he is just days away from being killed. Gov. Fallin has continued to ignore the calls of people from every state in America demanding that she grant a 60-day stay of execution so that Richard’s new pro-bono lawyers can prove his innocence. Her refusal could very well be the difference between the life and death of an innocent man.

Richard now has top notch lawyers working none stop to save his life—that’s why there’s a glimmer of hope that we can save his life. But we need this case to remain in the public spotlight to help put pressure on the governor to grant a stay of execution and give the attorneys more time to prove his innocence. These pro-bono lawyers have only been working on Richard’s case since July and look at what they’ve already found. 

On September 30, Justin Sneed could claim another victim’s life: Richard Glossip’s. We can’t let that happen. Join me in demanding Governor Mary Fallin and the state of Oklahoma not execute an innocent man.

BRITTANY O’GRADY

A dynamic and versatile performer, Brittany O’Grady is emerging as one of the industry’s brightest talents. She is perhaps best known as “Paula” in the first season of Mike White’s Emmy Award-winning HBO series THE WHITE LOTUS. 

She can currently be seen starring in Amazon’s stylish new thriller series THE CONSULTANT opposite Christoph Waltz and Nat Wolff. In film she most recently appeared opposite Daisy Ridley in SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING, which premiered at Sundance this year to rave reviews.

Other work includes starring in JJ Abrams and Sara Bareilles’s Apple series LITTLE VOICE, Lee Daniels’ Fox series STAR and Sophia Takal’s film BLACK CHRISTMAS for Blumhouse.

JAIME KING

Jaime King began her career as a fashion model landing covers of top international magazines and landing major advertising campaigns. King seamlessly transitioned from modeling into acting with a wide range of roles in film and television.

With roles in big studio films, independent film and passion projects King has been able to showcase her versatility with dramatic and comedic roles. King made her debut in Daniel Waters’ Happy Campers, which premiered at The Sundance Film Festival. Following her debut acting role, Jaime starred opposite Johnny Depp in Ted Demme’s film BLOW, followed by Michael Bay’s PEARL HARBOR starring opposite Ben Affleck, Keenan Ivory Wayans’ WHITE CHICKS, Robert Rodriguez’s SIN CITY starring opposite Benicio Del Toro, Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis, DJ Caruso’s TWO FOR THE MONEY starring opposite Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey, Frank Millers’ THE SPIRIT starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson, SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR starring opposite Joseph Gordon Levitt and Josh Brolin to name a few. Additionally, Jaime was a series regular on the show HART OF DIXIE for four seasons starring opposite Rachel Bilson for the CW.  Other credits include, the Sundance Film Festival premiering BITCH written and directed by Mariana Palka and starring opposite Jason Ritter, ESCAPE PLAN 2 and ESCAPE PLAN 3 starring opposite Sylvester Stallone and an amazing cameo in OCEAN’S 8 directed by Gary Ross for Warner Brothers. Jaime can currently be seen in the critically acclaimed and number one series BLACK SUMMER on Netflix for season one and season two, OUT OF DEATH starring opposite Bruce Willis which is currently streaming on Hulu, CODE NAME BANSHEE starring opposite Antonio Banderas which is also streaming on Hulu, THE RESURRECTION OF CHARLES MANSON starring opposite Frank Grillo and HOAX: THE KIDNAPPING OF SHERRI PAPINI for Lifetime.  Jaime recently wrapped shooting the feature film, LIGHTS OUT starring opposite Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney and Scott Adkins.

Philanthropy and activism have always been key pillars of King’s career and she has used her platform to advocate for many important causes and is unafraid to question the status quo. This activism has also formed her creative endeavors in fashion and beauty. She collaborated with AKID to launch a children’s shoe line, inspired by her kids, comprised of seven unisex styles. King also previously launched a gender-fluid, gender-neutral line with Gardner and the Gang called “Gardner and the Gang X Jaime King.” The collection is designed for children to wear the beautiful story of friendship as an emblem of style, and share it with others as an empowering movement towards creating a generation without judgment. In 2016, King launched a cruelty-free, vegan makeup line with ColourPop cosmetics “Alchemy by Jaime King x ColourPop” which sold out within hours of its launch. Jaime tested the various colors of each product on a variety of skin types (all ethnicities/skin colors, etc.) as she wanted each color to work for everyone.

King currently resides in Los Angeles with her two children.

BEX TAYLOR-KLAUS

“In 2013, Bex Taylor-Klaus was introduced as one of the first and most well received transgender roles on cable TV on the critically acclaimed “THE KILLING”. They have been a catalyst and inspired more ideas for transgender, trans nonbinary, and non-conforming representation in Hollywood over the last decade. In the last couple years Bex has been in leading roles such as CBS Films’ HELLFEST along with the Netflix hit, DUMPLIN’ where they played a supporting role opposite Jennifer Aniston. They can also be seen in Millennium’s BLACKBIRD opposite Kate Winslet & Susan Sarandon. Last year, they had wrapped on the indie film, I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST, written and directed by Tommy Dorfman. They are currently shooting Adam Saunder’s independent feature film, RE-ELECTION.”

ALOK VAID-MENON

ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed author, poet, comedian, and public speaker. As a mixed-media artist their work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020), and Your Wound/My Garden (2021) and the creator of #DeGenderFashion: an initiative to degender fashion and beauty industries. In recognition of their work, they have been honored as the inaugural LGBTQ Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania and awarded a GLAAD Media Award and Stonewall Foundation Visionary Award. Over the past decade, they have toured in more than 40 countries, most recently selling out their runs at the Soho Theatre in London, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Kennedy Performing Arts Center. Their show has been described as “provocative and powerful” (CHORTLE), a “potent combination of comedy and poetry” (THE SCOTSMAN), and a “Jaw-dropping celestial event” (TO DO LIST LONDON). On screen, they will make their feature film debut in Absolute Dominion opposite Patton Oswalt and next can be seen in Emmie Lichtenberg’s film Complicated Order opposite Midori Francis. On television, they have appeared on Hulu’s Planet Sex with Cara Delevingne, ABC’s PRIDE: To Be Seen – A Soul of A Nation, Netflix’s Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and The Trans List.

ADINA PORTER

Emmy-nominated actress, Adina Porter was born and raised in The South Bronx, to immigrant parents. She always felt a deep desire to entertain. As a child, her parents enrolled her in dance and acting classes while gently steering her toward more conventional occupations. Undeterred, she attended the famed High School for the Performing Arts. Upon graduation from S.U.N.Y. Purchase, Porter embarked on a professional career rooted in the theatre. She built an impressive and extensive stage resume in NYC and in prestigious, regional theater companies, including an Obie Award-winning performance in Venus. Myriad TV guest appearances soon followed. In 2001, Porter made her Broadway debut in The Women.


In 2008, she landed the role of “Lettie Mae Thornton” in HBO’s True Blood. The role was originally conceived as a 4-episode Guest Star. However, the creative team was delighted by the character; Porter spent the following seven seasons on the show. Thanks to wigs, elaborate makeup and contact lenses, “Lettie Mae” looked very different from Adina Porter. This engendered a realization within Porter: she was a chameleon. She went on to work in over 60 television series and 20 feature films, many with altered physical appearances, various accents and distinctly unique roles.


Her breakout performance was arguably “Beverly Hope” in American Horror Story: Cult for which she garnered an Emmy® nomination. Porter has worked in five of the anthology seasons. In addition to FX’s AHS franchise, Porter is known to audiences as “Indra,” from CW’s post-apocalyptic, The 100, “Prioress” in Amazon’s Paper Girls, “Sheriff Peterkin” in the Netflix hit Outer Banks, “The Voice” in The Power, and pivotal roles in Apple TV’s The Morning Show, Aaron Sorkin’s, The Newsroom, HBO’s The Leftovers, Showtime’s Ray Donovan and Sony’s Underground.


Next, Porter will star opposite LaKeith Stanfield in Apple TV’s The Changeling and will appear with Nicole Kidman in The Perfect Couple.


On the big screen, Porter recently appeared alongside Uzo Aduba in Miss Virginia. Additional film credits include: multi award-winning The Social Network, The Last Word, Gia, Wig Shop, The Peacemaker, About Sunny, among others. She will also be seen this year in the Amazon Studios feature Sitting in Bars with Cake.


Porter and her two kids split time between Los Angeles and New York City. She proudly serves as a CARE ambassador and devotes time to Goodwill, Feeding America and the World Central Kitchen. She enjoys swimming and yoga to stay in shape. Porter is a self-proclaimed “news junkie.”