A second Oklahoma County judge stepped away from the high-profile case of former death row inmate Richard Glossip on Thursday morning.
Judge Kathryn Savage recused herself at the request of Glossip's attorneys, who argued her ties to the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council would prevent her from fairly overseeing the trial.
The Council's assistant executive director is serving as a special prosecutor in the case. Some of its members were also involved in a lawsuit alleging improper communication with the Pardon and Parole Board regarding Glossip's fate at a previous clemency hearing.
Savage is the second judge to step aside in recent weeks. Judge Heather Coyle recused herself in late August, shortly after ruling that Glossip would remain in the Oklahoma County jail while awaiting trial.
A third judge, Susan Stallings, was assigned Glossip's case but has so far refused to step down despite similar objections from the defense. More than one-third of Oklahoma County's 14 district judges have connections to the DA's Council.
Glossip, now 62, has been incarcerated for more than two decades. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 2004 for the 1997 killing of Oklahoma City motel owner Barry VanTreese. Since then, he's eaten his "last meal" three times and been scheduled to be executed nine times.
In February, his charges were thrown out by the United States Supreme Court after it found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. Attorney General Gentner Drummond is retrying Glossip for murder, this time, without the death penalty.
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