An Oklahoma
state consultant has referred to as for an investigation into the practices of the Oklahoma County District Legal professional’s workplace following extra revelations that county prosecutors intentionally withheld exculpatory proof and manufactured false testimony to safe a conviction and dying sentence in opposition to Richard Glossip in his 2004 retrial.
At a information convention on September 22, 2022, the fourth date Oklahoma had set to execute Glossip, State Consultant Justin Humphrey (R–Lane, pictured) referred to as the prosecution’s conduct within the case “extraordinarily unethical.” “That is unacceptable,” Humphrey stated. “You’re taking a look at taking an individual’s life, which makes you no higher than a assassin. … I wish to name for an investigation.”
Humphrey, who describes himself as “a powerful proponent” of capital punishment, stated that he initially “was very reluctant” to turn into concerned in Glossip’s case. “Now I’m on the level we’re investigating the flawed folks,” Humphrey stated. “I don’t assume that we must always simply let this go. … That is unacceptable. … Why would you do this? Why would you manufacture proof?”
The information convention was held in reference to supplemental petition filed by Glossip’s legal professionals within the Oklahoma Courtroom of Felony Appeals presenting documentation that Oklahoma County prosecutors had withheld proof that Justin Sneed, their lead witness within the case, had needed to recant his testimony implicating Glossip within the 1997 homicide of motel proprietor Barry Van Treese, however that Sneed feared doing so would jeopardize a plea deal that had spared him the dying penalty for the homicide. The prosecution information, which protection counsel have been capable of view for the primary time on September 1, 2022, contained notes relating to a collection of conferences between trial prosecutor Connie Pope, Sneed, and his lawyer Gina Walker regarding this challenge.
Advertisement
Pope’s co-counsel Gary Ackley informed investigators for the legislation agency Reed Smith — whom legislators retained professional bono to conduct an unbiased evaluation of the case — that he was by no means informed about Sneed’s need to recant or negotiate a greater deal for himself. “Any prosecutor can be involved about any cooperating witness in any large case relating to the uncertainty of the waffling backwards and forwards and the disingenuous unhealthy religion nature of such actions,” including that this proof clearly needed to be disclosed to the protection.
The petition additionally introduced proof lengthy hidden within the prosecution’s case file that Pope lied to the courtroom, withheld proof of quite a few improper pretrial and midtrial communications with Sneed, violated a witness sequestration order, and manufactured false testimony from Sneed to plug holes within the prosecution case that had developed throughout the trial.
Sneed had testified at Glossip’s first trial that Glossip had employed him to kill Van Timber and that, appearing alone, he had overwhelmed Van Treese to dying utilizing solely a baseball bat. In the course of the retrial, medical testimony established that Van Treese additionally had been stabbed and that the distinctive blade of a pocketknife discovered beneath Van Treese physique may have brought on these wounds. When the protection lastly obtained entry to the prosecution file, they found a midtrial letter from Pope to Sneed’s lawyer that there “are just a few objects which were testified to that I wanted to debate with Justin,” and that “[o]ur greatest drawback remains to be the knife.” Sneed then modified his account of the homicide to comport with the medical testimony, claiming that he additionally had stabbed Van Treese, and Pope feigned shock to the courtroom when the protection accused her of a discovery violation for failing to disclose the complete scope of Sneed’s anticipated testimony.
Glossip’s petition burdened the exculpatory nature of the proof regarding the knife. “If Sneed didn’t use the pocketknife, then any person else should have been contained in the room, and that flatly contradicted the state’s case that rested on Sneed’s account of committing the homicide alone,” counsel wrote. In the course of the press convention, Glossip’s lead counsel, Don Knight, stated that the prosecutor’s deliberate violation of the sequestration order to produce info to Sneed “calls into critical query the reliability of his testimony. That info was recognized by the prosecution since 2004, by no means turned over to the protection in any respect. … Not solely did the prosecution destroy proof, they manufactured proof. They modified folks’s testimony. They broke the foundations, all to attempt to get a conviction in opposition to Wealthy Glossip on a dying penalty case that ought to by no means have been introduced in any respect.”
No bodily proof connects Glossip to Van Treese’s homicide and, insisting on his innocence, he turned down a plea deal at his trial for a parole-eligible life sentence. His conviction and dying sentence rested totally on the repeatedly altering accounts of the homicide offered by Sneed. A number of witnesses have since come ahead with proof that Sneed falsely implicated Glossip to be able to keep away from the dying penalty.
Advertisement
In February 2022, a bipartisan group of 35 Oklahoma legislators engaged professional bono attorneys at Reed Smith to evaluation the case. Whereas the agency’s evaluation was underway, Oklahoma Legal professional Normal John O’Connor filed a movement with the Oklahoma Courtroom of Felony Appeals on June 10, 2022 in search of execution dates for 25 Oklahoma death-row prisoners, together with Glossip. Reed Smith issued its report 5 days later, documenting that prosecutors had destroyed key exculpatory information upfront of Glossip’s retrial and concluding that no affordable jury introduced with all of the proof would have convicted him. The agency’s persevering with investigation into the case has produced much more proof of prosecutorial misconduct and Glossip’s doubtless innocence, which it launched in supplemental experiences issued on August 9, August 23, and September 20, 2022.
In two orders issued on July 1, the courtroom granted O’Connor’s request to set the execution dates, scheduling Glossip’s execution for September 22. Together with his execution date pending, Glossip filed a petition within the Oklahoma Courtroom of Felony Appeals in search of a brand new trial primarily based on the preliminary Reed Smith report. Governor Kevin Stitt briefly stayed Glossip’s execution on August 16, 2022, to offer the appeals courtroom time to find out whether or not to grant Glossip a listening to on his innocence declare and rescheduled Glossip’s execution for December 8, 2022.
Two-thirds of Oklahoma’s legislators, led by Republican State Consultant Kevin McDugle, despatched a letter to Legal professional Normal John O’Connor urging him to assist Glossip’s request for a brand new listening to. O’Connor declined and is continuous to oppose granting Glossip a chance to current proof to the courtroom.
“I’m not afraid to have a listening to,” Knight stated on the press convention. “I feel the state is afraid to have a listening to. They only wish to kill this man.”
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers scored 16 points before suffering a left shoulder injury in the third quarter, and No. 10 Oklahoma rolled past Texas A&M 77-62 on Sunday.
Beers, a 6-foot-4 center, was helped off the floor by teammates. She returned to the bench with an ice pack on her shoulder, but did not play again.
Advertisement
The Sooners (14-3, 2-2 SEC) bounced back from a loss to Mississippi State on Thursday to claim their first home SEC win in their first season in the conference.
Aicha Coulibaly scored 16 points for Texas A&M (8-8, 1-3), which shot 26.9%.
It was the second straight blowout loss for the Aggies, who dropped a 90-49 decision to No. 2 South Carolina on Thursday.
Oklahoma made 9 of 14 field goals in the first quarter and Beers scored 10 points in the period as the Sooners took a 27-10 lead.
The Sooners led 44-23 at halftime after holding the Aggies to 18.9% shooting. Beers scored 16 points and made 10 of 11 free throws before the break.
Advertisement
Takeaways
Texas A&M: The Aggies tried to rally in the third, but were too far behind to take advantage of Beers’ absence. The Aggies trailed 59-38 when Beers was hurt, and outscored the Sooners 24-18 the rest of the way.
Oklahoma: It wasn’t the cleanest game for the Sooners. They made 8 of 33 3-pointers and committed 19 turnovers. They’ll need to improve those areas against better opponents.
Key moment
Oklahoma, already leading by 17 heading into the second quarter, held the Aggies to one field goal in the first five minutes of the second to resume its defensive dominance.
Key stat
Texas A&M made 3 of 19 3-pointers.
Up next
Texas A&M hosts Georgia and Oklahoma hosts Missouri, both on Thursday.
Advertisement
___
Get poll alerts and updates on AP Top 25 basketball throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
When Ben Arbuckle stepped foot on campus at Canadian High School in 2010, coach Chris Koetting felt like he had a crystal ball.
A freshman quarterback at the time, Arbuckle made an immediate impression on Koetting, who mentally made a bold prediction.
“I knew he was going to do big things in football,” Koetting said.
Fast forward more than a decade, and some might think Koetting is a fortune teller.
Advertisement
Arbuckle, only 29, has already become a successful coach at the collegiate level. He accepted the offensive coordinator job at Oklahoma in December, following stints at Washington State and Western Kentucky.
Now he’s tasked with breathing new life into an Oklahoma offense that was among the worst in college football in 2024. Those who know him are confident he’ll succeed.
Canadian, TX, located on the far-right end of the Texas Panhandle, has a population of just 2,339 — so just about everybody knows everybody else.
Arbuckle’s high school career made him an even more recognizable name in the small town.
In his final two seasons of high school, Arbuckle passed for 7,500 yards and 95 touchdowns. He led the Wildcats to the UIL 2A state quarterfinals as a senior.
Advertisement
While most of Arbuckle’s high school highlights are passing-related, it’s where he first dove into instructing others.
Canadian’s backup for Arbuckle’s final two seasons was Tanner Schafer, who later played at OU. After waiting behind Arbuckle and learning from him, Schafer led Canadian to back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015.
“(Ben) has helped a lot of quarterbacks along the way, not just as a coach,” Koetting said. “He’s special.”
After high school, Arbuckle took two seasons off from playing football before joining West Texas A&M’s program in 2016. Located in Canyon, just outside of Amarillo, Arbuckle continued to learn more about the game on a small scale.
He spent half of the 2016 season as the Buffaloes’ starter, completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,241 yards and 15 touchdowns. Arbuckle didn’t start in 2017, but he was WTAM’s top backup, appearing in 10 games.
Advertisement
While Arbuckle didn’t break records at West Texas A&M, his time there showed others his work ethic, killer instinct and love for the game — traits that have allowed him to succeed as a college coach.
“I definitely learned about Ben’s competitiveness from my time playing,” said Allen Roberson, who played with Arbuckle at WTAM as a defensive end. “It was always fun competing each day against the offense in practice. As a QB, it’s always important to learn and process quickly. Ben always showed that, along with his enthusiasm and fun spirit every day.”
Arbuckle’s love for the game really shined through at his first collegiate coaching stop.
Immediately after graduating from West Texas A&M, Arbuckle joined the staff at Houston Baptist (now Houston Christian), which competes at the NCAA Division I FCS level.
Arbuckle was an unpaid quality control assistant for the Huskies — and it got his foot in the door to where he wanted to be.
Advertisement
Koetting guided Arbuckle as he entered the college coaching realm. And it didn’t surprise Arbuckle’s high school coach that he’d be willing to coach for free — or take a second job as a food delivery driver to make ends meet.
“His trail to get to where he’s at right now is kind of crazy,” Koetting said. “His work ethic is something else.”
After that, Arbuckle returned to the Texas Panhandle for one year, serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Seminole High School.
Arbuckle then landed his first paid college coaching job at Western Kentucky, where he started as an offensive quality control assistant. He was then promoted to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Hilltoppers in 2022, helping lead the nation’s No. 1 passing offense (433.7 passing yards per game) with eventual NFL quarterback Bailey Zappe.
That instant success helped Arbuckle land the same job at Washington State.
Advertisement
The body of work is just three years for Arbuckle-led college football offenses, but he hasn’t missed yet. After heading a successful air-raid system at WKU, he was just as successful in Pullman.
In 2023, Arbuckle worked with Cam Ward — who later transferred to Miami (FL) and was a 2024 Heisman finalist — and produced a passing offense that was fourth nationally with 336.8 yards per game.
A year later, Arbuckle ran an offense with John Mateer, who recently transferred to Oklahoma. The Cougars finished 2024 with 30 passing touchdowns, which was sixth in the nation.
“One of the best offensive minds in the last several decades in college football,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said in December. “He has his own report — everything that I continue to look at.”
Now, Arbuckle heads to his biggest program yet — and it’s a full-circle journey for him.
Advertisement
Canadian is just over three hours away from Norman, and his wife, Lauren, grew up a die-hard OU fan. On their first date, Arbuckle took Lauren to an Oklahoma game.
Game day for those two will look quite different when Arbuckle takes the reins in the fall. But it’s a return to the place that sparked their love for one another and Arbuckle’s love for OU.
“Here we are 12 years later, and we’re very proud to be here,” Arbuckle said on the National Signing Day show on Sooner Sports TV in December. “We’re ready to get this thing rolling.”
In addition to Arbuckle’s short-but-impressive resume and his family ties, his leadership is what those closest to him think will stand out.
Rosemary Koetting, Chris’ wife, described Arbuckle as a “player’s coach” who is kind, intelligent and competitive.
Advertisement
“He makes everybody feel important,” Rosemary Koetting said. “Kids flock to him.”
Jett Niu, a 3-star quarterback prospect who signed with OU in December after Arbuckle’s hiring, had similar first impressions.
Arbuckle recruited Niu to Washington State early in his recruiting process, but the quarterback prospect ultimately chose to commit to Oklahoma State. But the two kept in touch even after Niu’s OSU commitment, and once Arbuckle landed in Norman, it was a no-brainer for him to flip.
“I love the way that he coaches and talks to his players,” Niu said. “He really just develops them.”
At 29 years old, Arbuckle is just over a decade older than Niu. His new coordinator’s youth — plus his proven track record with Zappe, Ward and Mateer — excites the Sooners’ incoming signal caller.
Advertisement
“He’s developed multiple quarterbacks that have been successful in college football, and I think I can be one of them,” Niu said. “We’re going to have a great next couple of years.”
Arbuckle’s time in Norman could span more than a decade. It could last only a year. Regardless, Koetting thinks Arbuckle is the right man for the job.
But wherever Arbuckle’s coaching career takes him, Koetting will always see him as the small-town quarterback that he predicted to one day be a star.
“I have coached a lot of great quarterbacks, and he’s been my favorite,” Koetting said. “He’s one of ours. He’s special, and I can tell you that.”
The Texas A&M Aggies (8-7) will try to stop a three-game road skid when taking on the Oklahoma Sooners (13-3) on Sunday, January 12, 2025 at Lloyd Noble Center, airing at 5:00 PM ET on SEC Network.
Texas A&M is coming off of a 90-49 loss to South Carolina in its last game on Thursday.
Prepare for this matchup with everything you need to know about Sunday’s college hoops action.
Check out: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
Advertisement
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M: How to watch on TV or live stream
Watch women’s college basketball on Fubo!
Texas A&M scoring
The Sooners put up 24.5 more points than the Aggies allow (64.8).
Oklahoma is 13-3 when scoring more than 64.8 points.
Oklahoma is 8-7 versus the spread and 13-3 overall when scoring more than 64.8.
Texas A&M is 2-3 versus the spread and has an 8-5 record overall when conceding fewer than 89.3 points.
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M computer pick
Prediction: Oklahoma 81, Texas A&M 62
Watch women’s college basketball on Fubo!
Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Aggies Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25822586/STK169_ZUCKERBERG_MAGA_STKS491_CVIRGINIA_A.jpg "Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech")
