Taking an in-depth look at the cracks in the criminal justice system, and whether or not an innocent man is about to be executed, this docu-series is shot in real time and every minute counts. Cameras follow Richard Glossip during what may be the final days of his life, capturing a haunting and bazaar story. With no prior felony convictions, Glossip has been on death row for the murder of Barry Van Treese for almost twenty years without any evidence pointing to his guilt — except the confessed killer, Justin Sneed, who received only life in prison, stating Glossip told him to do it. Consistently maintaining his innocence, Glossip has been given a stay of execution on THREE separate occasions – the last due to a botched execution that forced Oklahoma to call for a commission to look into the protocols of the lethal injection drugs used. While Glossip has exhausted appeals and clemency has been denied, this documentary and the new evidence revealed may be the last shot at saving his life…and maybe even granting him freedom.
With support growing worldwide for Glossip, the docu-series also features interviews with high-profile supporters, including Academy Award®-winning actress Susan Sarandon, billionaire entrepreneur and social activist Richard Branson, and anti-death penalty activist and author Sister Helen Prejean (Dead Man Walking) who, at the eleventh hour, heroically pursued attorneys Don Knight and Mark Olive, convincing them to devote their time to the Glossip case pro-bono.
From Making A Murderer to Serial to Paradise Lost — the arts, media and celebrity are increasingly shining the spotlight on these stories, forcing the judicial system to review protocols. But time is running out for so many like Glossip. The recently announced news of Arkansas’s mad dash to execute eight inmates over a 10-day period in April, the same time “Killing Richard Glossip” premieres, is a sobering reminder.
With a private practice in Littleton, Colorado, Don Knight is focused on criminal defense matters with a career involved in the representation of a diverse group of clients, from state homicide cases to a wide range of federal cases. Since 2001, his practice has had an emphasis on federal death penalty trials.
Academy Award®-nominated and Emmy® and Peabody-winning filmmaker Joe Berlinger has been a leading voice in nonfiction film and television for two decades, with a particular emphasis on the criminal justice system. Berlinger’s films include the landmark documentaries Brother’s Keeper (PBS), a Sundance audience award winner; the Paradise Lost Trilogy (HBO), which helped lead to the release of the wrongfully-convicted West Memphis Three after 18 years of incarceration; and most recently, Whitey: United States of America vs. James J. Bulger, a searing investigation into law enforcement corruption at the highest levels (CNN).
