OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, today issued the following statement regarding an Open Records lawsuit involving the Richard Glossip case.

Humphrey and former Rep. Kevin McDugle filed the lawsuit against Tulsa County District Attorney Steven Kunzweiler on May 12 in Tulsa County District Court.

"This Open Records Act lawsuit seeks production of records we believe have been improperly withheld by Tulsa County District Attorney Steven Kunzweiler. Our requests relate to communications and records involving the Richard Glossip case, the District Attorneys Council, and the role of current and former public officials using their public offices to oppose the Attorney General’s confession of past prosecutorial misconduct before the United States Supreme Court.

"District Attorney Kunzweiler recently stated that 'Prosecutors are ministers of justice. We’re gatekeepers. If we misused the law for personal or political gain, we undermine the system.' These principles are precisely why public transparency is so important when elected prosecutors take positions in matters of extraordinary public consequence, especially in a death penalty case.

"Records show that District Attorney Kunzweiler and multiple district attorneys, mobilized to intervene and advocate for the execution of Richard Glossip even in the face of prosecutorial misconduct. The United States Supreme Court ultimately rejected DA Kunzweiler’s and his fellow DA’s position and vacated Mr. Glossip’s conviction and death sentence, holding he was entitled to a new trial. The state is now prosecuting Mr. Glossip for a third time, and the public has a legitimate interest in understanding the role public officials and public agencies played and continue to play in those decisions.

"This lawsuit is about access to public records, transparency by elected officials like District Attorney Kunzweiler, and accountability. Oklahomans are entitled to know how their elected officials use public offices, public resources, and public authority in cases involving the death penalty, prosecutorial misconduct, and the administration of justice.

"We will continue to pursue transparency and accountability through the legal process."