Oklahoma Man Scheduled to Die as He Fights to Prove Innocence

An Oklahoma man is scheduled to be executed Wednesday afternoon for murder, two weeks after his death was delayed by a state court, unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes.

Convicted murder Richard Glossip was denied time to prove his innocence by an Oklahoma court on Monday, clearing the way for his execution to proceed. Now, Glossip is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in hopes that the nation’s highest court will delay the execution. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, whose oversees emergency petitions coming from Oklahoma, has the authority to delay the execution herself or send the petition to the full court.

The scheduled execution comes after a long process of appeals on a number of grounds. Glossip took Oklahoma to court over concerns about the lethal injection drug used in several past botched executions.

After Glossip lost that case at the U.S. Supreme Court, his supporters questioned the fairness of the guilty verdict. The prosecution’s primary witness had struck a deal with prosecutors and has since recanted his testimony, supporters said. Two of five judges on a state panel supported staying the execution on Monday to allow for further hearings.

“We should all be deeply concerned about an execution under such circumstances,” Donald Knight, an attorney for Glossip, told the Washington Post in a statement.

The execution is scheduled to proceed at 4 p.m. ET.