On Thursday, Richard Glossip, once condemned to death row, walked free after an Oklahoma judge approved his bond while he anticipates a retrial concerning a murder dating back to 1997.
Throughout nearly three decades of incarceration, Glossip faced execution so closely that in 2015, he was offered “last meals” on three different occasions. He has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence in the murder of Barry Van Treese, his former employer who owned a motel in Oklahoma. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction and rescinded his death sentence.
Here’s a timeline of pivotal developments in Glossip’s legal journey and appeals.
January 7, 1997: Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese is found beaten to death. Employees Justin Sneed and Richard Glossip are quickly apprehended in relation to the crime.
August 14, 1998: Glossip is found guilty of murder and receives a death sentence. During the trial, prosecutors claim Van Treese’s death resulted from a murder-for-hire plot. Motel handyman Sneed testified, alleging he murdered their employer following Glossip’s promise of a $10,000 payment.
July 17, 2001: The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals throws out Glossip’s murder conviction and orders him a new trial.
Aug. 27, 2004: Glossip is sentenced to death again after second trial ends with a new murder conviction.
April 29, 2014: Oklahoma uses the surgical sedative midazolam for the first time during the execution of Clayton Lockett, who writhes and groans on the gurney. The execution process gets halted, but Lockett dies 43 minutes later. The state later blames an improperly placed intravenous line, not the new drug mix.
Nov. 20, 2014: Glossip’s scheduled execution is delayed to allow Oklahoma to obtain drugs and train staff on a new protocol.
Jan. 28, 2015: After Glossip has been served what is supposed to be his final meal, the U.S. Supreme Court halts his execution and those of two other Oklahoma prisoners while considering their legal challenge to the state’s use of midazolam in executions.
June 29, 2015: A divided U.S. Supreme Court upholds Oklahoma’s use of midazolam during executions.
Sept. 15, 2015: For the second time, Glossip is served what is supposed to be his last meal: chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and a dinner roll, fish and chips, a bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry malt.
Sept. 16, 2015: Hours before Glossip is scheduled for execution, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals grants him a two-week reprieve to review claims of new evidence supporting his innocence.
Sept. 29, 2015: For the third time, Glossip is served what is supposed to be his final meal: a medium pizza, two orders of fish and chips, a bacon cheeseburger and a strawberry malt.
Sept. 30, 2015: Prison officials are preparing to execute Glossip when Oklahoma’s governor stays the procedure because one of the lethal drugs being used didn’t match the state’s execution protocol.
Oct. 2, 2015: The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, at the request of the state’s attorney general, puts all executions on indefinite hold as officials review Oklahoma’s execution procedures.
Feb. 13, 2020: Oklahoma announces plans to resume executions using a three-drug lethal injection protocol.
May 5, 2023: The U.S. Supreme Court again halts Glossip’s execution, set for May 18, at the urging of Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general, who has concluded Glossip’s trial was “unfair and unreliable.”
Feb. 25, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court throws out Glossip’s murder conviction and death sentence, ruling prosecutors violated his right to a fair trial by allowing Sneed, their key witness, to give testimony they knew was false.
June 9, 2025: Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond says he plans to try Glossip again for murder. While agreeing his previous trial was unfair, Drummond says he doesn’t believe Glossip is innocent.
May 14, 2026: An Oklahoma judge orders a $500,000 bond for Glossip, granting him a chance to leave jail while awaiting trial. Hours later, Glossip walks out of an Oklahoma City jail.
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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.