After 29 years on Oklahoma’s death row, nine execution dates, and three last meals, Richard Glossip, who never killed anyone, is now out of prison.
Earlier this month, District Judge Natalie Mai set bail at $500,000, reportedly paid by Kim Kardashian, a long-time supporter, and Glossip walked out of prison.
The judge also set the following conditions:
- Wears an electronic monitoring device;
- Resides only with his wife at their home;
- Abstains from drugs and alcohol;
- Observes a residential curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.;
- Has no communication or interactions with potential witnesses, victim’s family members, or any individual incarcerated in an Oklahoma facility;
- Refrain from traveling outside of Oklahoma.
In her order, Oklahoma County District Judge Mai cited a constitutional amendment Oklahoma voters approved in 1988 stipulating that bail can only be denied when the proof of guilt is evident, or the presumption of guilt is great, for violent offenses, and offenses where the maximum sentence may be life imprisonment or life imprisonment without parole. Judge Mai also noted that, in 2023, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond sent a letter to the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board stating that, “Although [Glossip] may be guilty of first degree murder, the record (complete with new evidence that the jury did not hear nor consider in rendering its verdict and death sentence) does not support that he is guilty of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Glossip, now 63, was sentenced to death in 1997, convicted of engineering the murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of a motel where Glossip worked. The actual killer was Justin Sneed, a motel maintenance worker, but in a plea bargain, Sneed testified that Glossip was the mastermind of the murder and had offered him $10,000 to kill Van Treese. Sneed also falsely claimed that he was not being treated for mental issues, although prosecutors knew he had been prescribed lithium for a psychiatric condition. Sneed was sentenced to life without parole.
In March 2025, the US Supreme Court found that Glossip was entitled to a new trial based on evidence that the prosecution in his case withheld exculpatory evidence and allowed their star witness to offer false testimony during his capital trial. “Evidence of Sneed’s bipolar disorder, which could trigger impulsive violence when combined with his drug use, would have contradicted the prosecution’s portrayal of Sneed as harmless without Glossip’s influence. Hence there is a reasonable likelihood that correcting Sneed’s testimony would have affected the judgment of the jury,” the Court ruled.
In June 2025, three months after the Supreme Court decision, AG Drummond announced his office would retry Glossip, but would not seek a death sentence.
Glossip will be back in court on June 23.