Richard Glossip’s Murder Charge Dropped After 30 Years on Death Row

Richard Glossip, who spent almost three decades on death row, is no longer facing a murder charge after prosecutors agreed to dismiss it.

As part of the agreement, Glossip pleaded guilty in Oklahoma on Nov. 12 to the lesser offense of being an accessory to first-degree murder in the 1997 killing of his boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese.

“Richard Glossip finally took some measure of responsibility for the murder of Barry Van Treese,” Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced. “While allowing Glossip to plead guilty to the lesser-related charge of Accessory to First Degree Murder was a difficult decision for me and, more importantly, the Van Treese family, we both recognize that this path ensures a conviction related to Mr. Van Treese’s murder and gives us the best chance to secure additional prison time for Glossip.”

The agreement follows a February 2025 ruling in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Glossip’s murder conviction. The justices ordered a new trial after finding that prosecutorial misconduct had undermined the case against him.

Prosecutors are now asking that Glossip—who has not yet been sentenced on the accessory conviction—receive the maximum 45-year prison term. Drummond cited what he described as Glossip’s “deceit and deception along with his complicity” in Van Treese’s death.

Glossip’s lawyer, Don Knight, countered that his client has already spent more than enough time behind bars.

“For 30 years, Richard Glossip has maintained his innocence,” Knight said in a statement. “After nearly executing him nine times, the State of Oklahoma has now dismissed the murder charge against him. This morning, to finally put this matter to rest, Rich pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.”

“We believe Rich has more than paid his debt to society by spending nearly 30 years on death row,” Knight continued, “during which time he was served three last meals, and came within minutes of being executed for a crime he did not commit.”

Glossip, who was released on bail in May, said after the hearing that he was “grateful for his attorneys and all their hard work” as well as for his wife’s support, according to KOKH.

Barry Van Treese Was Beaten to Death by Justin Sneed

Van Treese owned Best Budget Inn motels in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Glossip managed the Oklahoma City location.

In the summer of 1996, Glossip allowed Justin Sneed and Sneed’s stepbrother to stay at the motel in exchange for help with maintenance and housekeeping.

“Sneed, however, had a history of violence, angry outbursts, and substance abuse that included marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and acid,” the Supreme Court wrote in its decision. “When, on January 6, 1997, Van Treese visited the inn to collect cash deposits there, Sneed beat him to death with a baseball bat.”

Glossip later told police that Sneed had confessed to killing Van Treese. He also acknowledged helping Sneed fix a broken window in a room where Van Treese’s body was eventually discovered.

After several rounds of questioning, however, Sneed claimed Glossip had played a far greater role. According to court records, Sneed told authorities that Glossip had hired him to kill Van Treese in order to steal the motel owner’s money.

Prosecutors offered Glossip a deal if he would testify against Sneed, but he rejected the offer and continued to maintain his innocence.

Sneed, meanwhile, agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against Glossip in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

“Sneed’s testimony was the only direct evidence connecting Glossip to the murder,” the U.S. Supreme Court later noted.

Sneed received a life sentence, while Glossip was sentenced to death.

Glossip’s first conviction was overturned in 2001 after a court found that he had received ineffective legal representation. He was convicted again in 2004 and sentenced to death for a second time.

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Richard Glossip’s Murder Conviction

In 2023, Drummond ordered an independent review after learning that the state had withheld a box of documents, known as “Box 8,” from Glossip’s defense team, according to a statement from the Oklahoma attorney general’s office.

The review also revealed that prosecutors knew Sneed was taking lithium for a psychiatric condition. Sneed had testified that he was not receiving mental health treatment, but prosecutors did not correct that testimony.

“Following the independent review, which documented multiple instances of error that cast doubt on the conviction, Drummond filed a motion in April 2023 with the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (OCCA) to set aside Glossip’s conviction and remand the case to district court,” the attorney general’s office said. “Despite the State’s confession of error, the OCCA upheld Glossip’s conviction and death sentence.”

The case ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 2025 that Glossip’s murder conviction had to be overturned and that he was entitled to a new trial.

The justices concluded that the original prosecutors committed a Napue violation by knowingly allowing Sneed to provide false testimony, depriving Glossip of a fair trial.

“Correcting Sneed’s lie would have undermined his credibility and revealed his willingness to lie under oath,” the justices wrote. “The false testimony also bore on Glossip’s guilt because 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.”