Politics
Richard Glossip Returns to Oklahoma Court as New Trial Looms in Decades-Old Murder Case
Richard Glossip, whose murder conviction and death sentence were overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, appeared in Oklahoma County District Court for a pretrial motions hearing Thursday. His new trial is set for Dec. 7, following revelations of prosecutorial misconduct and a rare push for a new trial by the state's attorney general.
OKLAHOMA CITY â Richard Glossip, who has spent more than two decades on Oklahoma's death row, returned to Oklahoma County District Court on Thursday for a second round of pretrial motions ahead of his scheduled retrial next month. The hearing comes as the high-profile case, which dates back nearly 30 years, moves toward a new trial set to begin Dec. 7.
Glossip was convicted in 1997 of orchestrating the murder of his former boss, Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Best Budget Inn. According to court records, Justin Sneed, a handyman, confessed to beating Van Treese to death with a baseball bat but testified that Glossip had hired him to commit the killing. Sneed received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony, while Glossip was sentenced to death.
For years, Glossip has maintained his innocence, and his execution date was repeatedly delayed as new evidence emerged. A turning point came in 2023, when Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said boxes of previously undisclosed evidence convinced him that Glossip's trial had been unfair. Although Drummond has said he does not believe Glossip is innocent, he argued that Glossip deserved a new trial.
In 2024, Drummond filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to halt Glossip's execution, citing a Brady violationâprosecutors' failure to share potentially exculpatory evidence with the defenseâand the knowing use of false testimony that prevented Glossip from receiving due process. The Supreme Court agreed, and in 2025 it threw out Glossip's murder conviction and death sentence.
"Glossip is entitled to a new trial," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the five-justice majority.
In May, an Oklahoma County District Court judge granted Glossip bond, allowing him to walk free for the first time in decades. Thursday's hearing is the second on pretrial motions as both sides prepare for the December retrial.
The case has drawn national attention, raising questions about the reliability of jailhouse testimony and the obligations of prosecutors to disclose evidence. For Oklahomans, the retrial represents a rare reexamination of a capital convictionâone that could have implications for how the state handles similar cases in the future.