DEMOCRACY NOW!
February 26, 2025
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GuestsSister Helen Prejean
anti-death penalty activist and spiritual adviser to Richard Glossip.
Links
This is viewer supported news. Please do your part today.Donate
GuestsSister Helen Prejean
anti-death penalty activist and spiritual adviser to Richard Glossip.
Links
"River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey"
We look at a rare victory for a death row prisoner before the U.S. Supreme Court. On Tuesday, three conservative justices joined with the three liberals to overturn the murder conviction and death sentence of Richard Glossip, who has spent nearly 30 years on Oklahoma death row and had exhausted all other appeals to stay his execution. The justices said Glossip was entitled to a new trial after errors in his original prosecution. Glossip’s conviction stems from the 1997 murder of his former boss, who was killed by another man who accused Glossip of masterminding the killing. Glossip has always maintained his innocence, and even Oklahoma Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond has said Glossip did not get a fair trial. We speak with Glossip’s spiritual adviser, Sister Helen Prejean, renowned anti-death penalty activist, who says the case has brought together a remarkable coalition to fight for justice and helped to highlight the problems with capital punishment. “We don’t need this thing,” says Prejean. “It’s time to shut it down.”
Transcript
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.
We look now at a rare victory for a death row prisoner before the U.S. Supreme Court. On Tuesday, three of the court’s conservative justices joined with the three liberals to throw out the conviction and death sentence of Oklahoma death row prisoner Richard Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for nearly three decades after being convicted as the mastermind behind the 1997 murder-for-hire of his former employer, a motel owner.
Glossip’s appeal was actually supported by Oklahoma’s Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who said he didn’t receive a fair trial. Drummond’s formal “confession of error” and request for a new trial was rejected by Oklahoma’s Court of Criminal Appeals. But on Tuesday, the Supreme Court found long-suppressed evidence had undermined the case. And Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority opinion, quote, “Glossip is entitled to a new trial.”
Richard Glossip has faced execution nine times, has eaten three last meals. Someone who’s been with him through much of that is his spiritual adviser, Sister Helen Prejean, one of the world’s most well-known anti-death penalty crusaders. She’s the author of the best-selling book Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty and, most recently, River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey.
Sister Helen, welcome back to Democracy Now! Why don’t you lay out how you believe this happened?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: Well, I’ll take it from the beginning. Early January 2015, I get a phone call, and it was from this man Richard Glossip. And he goes, “Sister Helen, I apologize. I didn’t ask your permission, but I think Oklahoma is going to kill me, and I put you down to be with me. I’m sorry. I didn’t ask your permission.” And that’s how we began. So I talked to him.
Then I began — I looked into his case. I had heard a little bit before. Got into bed, bolted awake at 2:00 in the morning, going, “I can’t just be with a man and accompany him to death.” I had enough experience with innocent people on death row that I decided I’d go visit him. And right away, from what I had heard of the case, we set up a press conference.
In the beginning, you are up against every odd. What chance did we have? But everything in the case depended on this man, Justin Sneed, who had already admitted that he had killed Barry Van Treese, this motel owner. And then, later, you find out that the investigators, the detectives are feeding to him, “But wasn’t Richard Glossip behind him, the whole murder?” And so, then they went after Richard as the mastermind.
Ten years later now — this is with lawyers working, trying to get the evidence of what happened — they clearly exposed — it was the last box of evidence. They kept this box of evidence from them that showed that the prosecutor knew that Justin Sneed was unreliable, had a bipolar disorder, and kept that from the jury. And if the jury had known that, it would have impeached his credibility. He was the lying meth addict. But they kept it. And it’s called Napue. When a prosecutor is aware that a lie is being told, they have a duty to correct that to the jury. And they didn’t. And they got the evidence in that last box of evidence. It showed that the prosecutor knew and lied.
And on that basis, Sotomayor based the case, saying that’s against due process. They knew the lie that he was telling, and they hid it from the jury. And that’s what saved him. This is 10 years later. This is every court in Oklahoma, you know, upholding it. It’s so hard to go after these prosecutors, because they have immunity, and they are seldom censored. I mean, look, almost 30 years Richard has lost his freedom, and he came close to death three times.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Sister Helen, what about the significance of several conservatives on the Supreme Court joining with the liberal justices on this?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: Oh, yeah, thank you for that. Yeah, not to mention an attorney general of this Republican conservative state, Gentner Drummond, who hopes to run for governor. And he did a brave, courageous, moral act, because he could see that Richard really did not get a fair trial. And he spoke out. And then, when the defense lawyers filed with the Supreme Court, he entered into it, saying, “I’m the attorney general of the state.” And he’s had huge backlash for that. And he stands out. It’s such a rare thing in this country that politicians of a certain ideological stance are willing to make moral decisions.
The legislators in the state also, all of them are Republicans, all of them pro-death penalty. Don Knight is the shining hero, this lawyer. And he went duck hunting with the lieutenant governor, and then he met people in the Legislature. Then Joe Berlinger did a fantastic two-part documentary, Killing Richard Glossip, which is out there. And the legislators could see the documentary, and then they met Richard in that personal meeting. And then they began to assemble the facts, and they stood up. Amazing. I had never heard of it before, that this kind of coalition of people willing to make the right moral decision and standing up happened. It’s an amazing story.
And it just highlights what’s so terribly wrong with the death penalty, especially in the killing states, the Deep South killing states. Oklahoma had had all these executions. And we in Louisiana are facing that now. We have a governor who’s installing gas. The veterinarians’ association two days ago had a press conference with little puppies and cats with a sign around their necks saying “Don’t gas humans,” because they don’t use gassing even for euthanasia of animals, because it’s cruel. And here we’ve got a governor is going gung-ho to kill as many people as he can with gas.
So, Richard Glossip, God bless him, I believe he’s going to be a free man. But look at it. Look at that whole system. The way the Supreme Court set up the death penalty and its administration, it gives this huge discretionary power to prosecutors to seek death or not, then for governors to initiate deaths if they feel they’re not happening fast enough. And that’s the state we’re in. But we’re working.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Sister? Sister? I —
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: The more you educate the people — go ahead.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Sister, I wanted to ask you also — we’ve been covering a lot the first weeks of the Trump administration. At the end of Trump’s first term in office, he carried out 13 executions, more than any other president in modern history. What are your thoughts on his executive order to pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use?
SISTER HELEN PREJEAN: That’s that huge discretionary power I was talking about that the Supreme Court allowed. He lined up 13 people to kill, and then he went and killed them, with Bill Barr as his attorney general. And there’s almost nothing to stop it, except what you’re doing in Democracy Now!, what I do with books, and getting to the people to educate them. I mean, we don’t need to kill these people in Louisiana. We haven’t had an execution in 17 years, one consensual one. The fire has gone out of this. I know the guards at Angola. And how you can involve good people in taking a fellow human being and rendering him defenseless and killing him, it’s not fair to them, either. We don’t need this thing. It’s time to shut it down. And take my state, Louisiana, and take Oklahoma. Look at the millions they spend every year in their budget to keep the death penalty in place. It’s the most expensive way, that in Louisiana, it’s $13 million 600 above what it would cost for a person just to be in prison for life.
AMY GOODMAN: Sister Helen Prejean, we thank you so much for being with us, one of the world’s most well-known anti-death penalty activists, spiritual adviser to Richard Glossip. The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that he will get a new trial. And to see our extremely rare interview with a death row prisoner earlier this week, Keith LaMar, in Youngstown, Ohio, in supermax, scheduled to die at the beginning of 2027, also professing his innocence, go to democracynow.org
Nitrogen gas is banned in Louisiana to euthanize dogs. The state plans to use it to kill a death row inmate next month
‘This is a state that hasn't executed anybody in 15 years, and suddenly there’s this rush to kill,’ Jessie Hoffman’s attorney told The Independent
Justin Rohrlich
in New York
‘This is a state that hasn't executed anybody in 15 years, and suddenly there’s this rush to kill,’ Jessie Hoffman’s attorney told The Independent
Justin Rohrlich
in New York
THE INDEPENDENT
Wednesday 26 February 2025
open image in galleryJessie Hoffman is set to be gassed to death as his method of execution in Louisiana on March 18 (AP)
The use of nitrogen gas is considered too barbaric and inhumane for euthanizing dogs and cats, according to veterinarians, and has been banned in all but two states.
But, on March 18, Louisiana – after a decade-and-a-half death penalty moratorium – is set to execute a person this way.
Jessie Hoffman has spent the better part of three decades behind bars at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison in the remote town of Angola. Now 46, Hoffman was sentenced to death following his 1998 conviction on a first-degree murder charge.
A jury found Hoffman guilty of kidnapping, robbing, raping, and fatally shooting 28-year-old New Orleans advertising exec Mary Elliot, whose body was discovered on Thanksgiving Day near the Middle Pearl River. Hoffman ultimately confessed to the killing, and DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene, according to prosecutors. While Hoffman’s defense team did not dispute the fact that he had shot Elliot, they argued in court that the gun went off accidentally during a struggle over the weapon.
Attorney Cecelia Kappel, executive director of the Capital Appeals Project and the Loyola University Center for Social Justice, is challenging Louisiana’s execution protocol on behalf of Hoffman. Louisiana paused executions due to broad political pushback on top of an inability to procure lethal injection drugs. Last year, Alabama carried out the nation’s first-ever execution using nitrogen gas, and has since put a total of four people to death using the method, which saw each of the condemned gasping, thrashing and convulsing for up to 20 minutes as they were slowly suffocated.
Hoffman, according to Kappel, “experienced torture as a child, and now the state wants to torture him to death.”
“They know what [nitrogen gas] does to animals, we shouldn't be doing that to human beings,” Kappel told The Independent. “This is a state that hasn't executed anybody in 15 years, and suddenly there’s this rush to kill. And with that rush comes a brand new, untested, execution method.”
open image in galleryJessie Hoffman has been behind bars since 1998, but has an execution date set for next month (Louisiana Board of Pardons)
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Trump-endorsed Republican who last year forced the state’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, announced the new gassing protocol on February 10. Execution by nitrogen hypoxia, the technical term for the method, is carried out by placing a mask over the condemned’s face and replacing the flow of oxygen with pure nitrogen gas “for a sufficient time period necessary to cause the death of the inmate,” according to a summary of the protocol issued by the governor’s office.
“For too long, Louisiana has failed to uphold the promises made to victims of our State’s most violent crimes; but that failure of leadership by previous administrations is over,” Landry said in a statement at the time. “The time for broken promises has ended; we will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed... I anticipate the national press will embellish on the feelings and interests of the violent death row murderers, we will continue to advocate for the innocent victims and the loved ones left behind.”
The decision was, in Kappel’s words, “incredibly arbitrary,” and she said Landry and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill are barreling forward with Hoffman’s execution without hearing from opponents. The Independent has reached out to Landry’s office for comment.
If the two were truly concerned with upholding the law, as they have stated, then they should “have no problem allowing this new execution protocol to be reviewed in the courts,” Kappel said.
Instead, they have thus far prevented it from happening. Kappel believes their insistence on using nitrogen gas is “politically motivated,” and asks, “Why now, why this moment, and why the rush? Why is the state in such a hurry to roll out this new protocol and use Jessie Hoffman as the test case?”
Kappel went on, “We have never had a court rule on the merits as to whether Louisiana’s [planned] method of execution is cruel and unusual. And that’s all we’re asking for… I think there is a small minority of people in this state who say, ‘Hang ‘em all,’ but they don't speak for the vast majority of Louisianans.”
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open image in galleryGassing animals to death is banned in Louisiana, but Hoffman is set to be executed that way (Getty Images)
Hoffman himself is no longer the same person he was when he was arrested at the age of 18, according to his supporters. Since entering prison, Hoffman has co-founded a prayer group for fellow inmates, works as a mentor to younger men incarcerated at Angola, and has expressed profound remorse for his actions, advocates contend.
These qualities “really set him apart from a lot of other people on death row,” Kappel argued. “I represent people on death row, and he’s really a unique person.”
She said Hoffman “is beloved by both his fellow inmates and the prison staff,” a sentiment that emerges in messages of support released by Hoffman’s legal team.
“Jessie was very respectful of me and the other guards,” one former correctional officer at Angola said in a statement on Hoffman’s behalf. “He is also very thoughtful and understanding of other people. He would share food with other inmates and help stretch the phone into a cell so the other guys could talk to their families. I think Jessie deserves a chance.”
Kappel is concerned not only for Hoffman, but also for those who will watch him die, including prison staff, the media, and members of the victim’s family, she told The Independent.
“Nobody wants to witness a death happening in that horrible, gruesome way,” Kappel said.
Hoffman is scheduled to be executed on March 18.
Wednesday 26 February 2025
open image in galleryJessie Hoffman is set to be gassed to death as his method of execution in Louisiana on March 18 (AP)
The use of nitrogen gas is considered too barbaric and inhumane for euthanizing dogs and cats, according to veterinarians, and has been banned in all but two states.
But, on March 18, Louisiana – after a decade-and-a-half death penalty moratorium – is set to execute a person this way.
Jessie Hoffman has spent the better part of three decades behind bars at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison in the remote town of Angola. Now 46, Hoffman was sentenced to death following his 1998 conviction on a first-degree murder charge.
A jury found Hoffman guilty of kidnapping, robbing, raping, and fatally shooting 28-year-old New Orleans advertising exec Mary Elliot, whose body was discovered on Thanksgiving Day near the Middle Pearl River. Hoffman ultimately confessed to the killing, and DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene, according to prosecutors. While Hoffman’s defense team did not dispute the fact that he had shot Elliot, they argued in court that the gun went off accidentally during a struggle over the weapon.
Attorney Cecelia Kappel, executive director of the Capital Appeals Project and the Loyola University Center for Social Justice, is challenging Louisiana’s execution protocol on behalf of Hoffman. Louisiana paused executions due to broad political pushback on top of an inability to procure lethal injection drugs. Last year, Alabama carried out the nation’s first-ever execution using nitrogen gas, and has since put a total of four people to death using the method, which saw each of the condemned gasping, thrashing and convulsing for up to 20 minutes as they were slowly suffocated.
Hoffman, according to Kappel, “experienced torture as a child, and now the state wants to torture him to death.”
“They know what [nitrogen gas] does to animals, we shouldn't be doing that to human beings,” Kappel told The Independent. “This is a state that hasn't executed anybody in 15 years, and suddenly there’s this rush to kill. And with that rush comes a brand new, untested, execution method.”
open image in galleryJessie Hoffman has been behind bars since 1998, but has an execution date set for next month (Louisiana Board of Pardons)
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, a Trump-endorsed Republican who last year forced the state’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments in all classrooms, announced the new gassing protocol on February 10. Execution by nitrogen hypoxia, the technical term for the method, is carried out by placing a mask over the condemned’s face and replacing the flow of oxygen with pure nitrogen gas “for a sufficient time period necessary to cause the death of the inmate,” according to a summary of the protocol issued by the governor’s office.
“For too long, Louisiana has failed to uphold the promises made to victims of our State’s most violent crimes; but that failure of leadership by previous administrations is over,” Landry said in a statement at the time. “The time for broken promises has ended; we will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed... I anticipate the national press will embellish on the feelings and interests of the violent death row murderers, we will continue to advocate for the innocent victims and the loved ones left behind.”
The decision was, in Kappel’s words, “incredibly arbitrary,” and she said Landry and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill are barreling forward with Hoffman’s execution without hearing from opponents. The Independent has reached out to Landry’s office for comment.
If the two were truly concerned with upholding the law, as they have stated, then they should “have no problem allowing this new execution protocol to be reviewed in the courts,” Kappel said.
Instead, they have thus far prevented it from happening. Kappel believes their insistence on using nitrogen gas is “politically motivated,” and asks, “Why now, why this moment, and why the rush? Why is the state in such a hurry to roll out this new protocol and use Jessie Hoffman as the test case?”
Kappel went on, “We have never had a court rule on the merits as to whether Louisiana’s [planned] method of execution is cruel and unusual. And that’s all we’re asking for… I think there is a small minority of people in this state who say, ‘Hang ‘em all,’ but they don't speak for the vast majority of Louisianans.”
open image in galleryGassing animals to death is banned in Louisiana, but Hoffman is set to be executed that way (Getty Images)
Hoffman himself is no longer the same person he was when he was arrested at the age of 18, according to his supporters. Since entering prison, Hoffman has co-founded a prayer group for fellow inmates, works as a mentor to younger men incarcerated at Angola, and has expressed profound remorse for his actions, advocates contend.
These qualities “really set him apart from a lot of other people on death row,” Kappel argued. “I represent people on death row, and he’s really a unique person.”
She said Hoffman “is beloved by both his fellow inmates and the prison staff,” a sentiment that emerges in messages of support released by Hoffman’s legal team.
“Jessie was very respectful of me and the other guards,” one former correctional officer at Angola said in a statement on Hoffman’s behalf. “He is also very thoughtful and understanding of other people. He would share food with other inmates and help stretch the phone into a cell so the other guys could talk to their families. I think Jessie deserves a chance.”
Kappel is concerned not only for Hoffman, but also for those who will watch him die, including prison staff, the media, and members of the victim’s family, she told The Independent.
“Nobody wants to witness a death happening in that horrible, gruesome way,” Kappel said.
Hoffman is scheduled to be executed on March 18.
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