by
Win
McNamee/Getty
Images)
For
the
last
five
or
so
weeks,
the
news
has
been
nothing
but
throat
punch
after
throat
punch.
So,
I
wasn’t
expecting
great
things
when
the
Supreme
Court
weighed
in
on
the
Oklahoma
death
row
case
of
Richard
Glossip.
But
the
pessimism
was
misplaced!
A
majority
of
the
Court
found
the
procedural
anomalies
in
the
case
warranted
a
new
trial.
Glossip’s
case
is
far
from
typical.
His
execution
was
postponed
nine
times
and
the
Republican
attorney
general
in
the
state
actually
petitioned
for
a
new
trial.
An
independent,
pro
bono
review
of
the
case
by
Reed
Smith
revealed
“significant
evidence
of
government
misconduct
and
destruction
of
evidence”
led
to
Glossip’s
1998
conviction.
And
before
Glossip’s
2001
retrial,
the
review
found
“key
physical
evidence”
was
destroyed
and
prosecutors
knowingly
allowed
false
testimony
at
trial.
Most
people
who’ve
looked
at
this
case
are
pretty
sure
Glossip
is
innocent,
so
the
Supreme
Court’s
decision
likely
stops
a
grave
miscarriage
of
justice.
But
Clarence
Thomas
is
pissed
about
it.
He
wrote
a
44-page
dissent
in
the
case,
joined
by
Samuel
Alito
because
who
is
Tweedle
Dee
without
Tweedle
Dumb.
And,
you
guys,
he
lashed
out
at
his
fellow
justices
in
a
way
that
reveals
the
man
has
no
understanding
of
irony.
He
wrote
that
the
majority
“distorts
our
jurisdiction,
imagines
a
constitutional
violation
where
none
occurred,
and
abandons
basic
principles
governing
the
disposition
of
state
court
appeals.”
Thomas
continued
that
the
Oklahoma
Court
of
Criminal
Appeals’
refusal
to
grant
Glossip
a
new
trial
“should
have
marked
the
end
of
the
road
for
Glossip.
Instead,
the
Court
stretches
the
law
at
every
turn
to
rule
in
his
favor,”
and
that
his
colleagues
“bent
the
law
at
every
turn
to
grant
relief
to
Glossip.”
I
mean,
if
the
law
has
to
be
“bent”
to
stop
the
execution
of
an
innocent
man,
Thomas’s
view
of
“constitutional
violations”
is
pretty
corrupt.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].