Thankful to his wife and lawyers, Richard admitted that what he is feeling is “overwhelming, but at the same time incredible”
After 29 years, nine execution dates and three last meals, former death row inmate Richard Glossip was released on bail this Thursday, awaiting a new trial. His previous conviction, for conspiracy to murder his former boss, was overturned by the Supreme Court last year, his lawyer told CNN.
Glossip, who had just taken his first steps toward freedom after being released from an Oklahoma prison, told reporters present that he was grateful to his wife and lawyers, adding that he was “very happy.”
“It’s overwhelming but at the same time incredible,” he admitted.
“He was obviously overjoyed, screaming and celebrating. It was a memorable day,” attorney Don Knight confirmed to CNN’s Jake Tapper about Glossip’s reaction to the Oklahoma District Court judge’s decision granting $500,000 bail earlier in the day.
Glossip, 63, was convicted in 1998 for his involvement in the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, an Oklahoma City motel owner. However, the United States Supreme Court overturned his conviction and associated death sentence in February 2025.
Glossip had already seen his request for parole denied pending a new trial.
Oklahoma County District Judge Natalie Mai wrote in the ruling that “the court finds it cannot deny bail to Glossip,” based in part on a 2023 letter from Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond acknowledging that the evidence “does not support his guilt of first-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.”
“The court hopes that a new, error-free trial will provide all interested parties and the citizens of Oklahoma the outcome they deserve,” Mai wrote.
Knight told CNN on Thursday that “Rich is just excited to have the opportunity to have a normal life.”
The conditions of Glossip’s detention contract include the use of a GPS-enabled electronic ankle bracelet, adherence to a 10pm to 7am curfew and a ban on contact with any witnesses or potential family members of the victim unless contact is made through his lawyers. He must also remain in the state of Oklahoma, according to court records.
Decades-long legal battle
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Glossip’s conviction and death sentence last year marked a major turning point in his decades-long legal battle. The court ordered his case to be retried in Oklahoma, finding that prosecutors failed to correct false testimony at his 1998 trial that may have biased the jury.
This false testimony came from Van Treese’s real killer, Justin Sneed, and if they had corrected it, his credibility would have been damaged, compromising his testimony as the prosecution’s star witness.
Sneed was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in exchange for his guilty plea and testimony against Glossip. His testimony was the only evidence linking Glossip to the murder.
“This correction would have revealed to the jury not only that Sneed was untrustworthy [como aponta o amicus curiae, o júri já sabia que ele mentiu repetidamente à polícia]but also that Sneed was willing to lie to them under oath,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote on behalf of the majority.
Oklahoma prosecutors agreed to a new trial in June 2025 but denied bail at that time.
There will be several obstacles for prosecutors as they work to hold the new trial, Knight admitted to Tapper, noting that since the proceedings began, witnesses have died and some of the evidence has been lost or destroyed.
Origin in a conspiracy allegation
The case originates from the murder of Van Treese, 54, on January 7, 1997. He was beaten to death by Sneed, then 19, court records show. At the time, Sneed was staying at the motel while doing maintenance in exchange for a room. Glossip was the motel manager.
He initially denied knowledge of the murder, but eventually admitted that Sneed told him about Van Treese’s murder. Glossip was initially charged with accessory after the fact, but Sneed testified that Glossip asked him to kill Van Treese so he could run the motel.
His charge was changed to aggravated murder, and when Glossip refused a deal for life in prison, insisting he was innocent, prosecutors offered Sneed the same deal. At trial, Glossip was portrayed as the mastermind of the contract murder plot.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Knight told CNN that Glossip “will now have the chance to have the fair trial he has always been denied.”
Glossip’s next hearing is scheduled for June 23.
CNN’s Taylor Romine contributed to this report
