Richard Glossip, a former death row inmate, is set to be released on bond while he awaits a retrial related to a 1997 murder case. Glossip, who came close to execution on three separate occasions, had even prepared three last meal requests during his time on death row.
Judge Natalie Mai, after reviewing the substantial evidence in Glossip’s case, determined on Thursday that there was no basis to deny bail to the long-time prisoner, originally convicted of first-degree murder in 1998.
The judge ordered that Glossip’s bond be set at $500,000. As a condition of his release, he must remain in Oklahoma and will be monitored electronically.
In a significant development earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court nullified Glossip’s conviction and death sentence. The court found that prosecutors had not corrected the false testimony of key witness Justin Sneed, who admitted to the killing but avoided execution by implicating Glossip.
The ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in February overturned Glossip’s conviction and death sentence, finding prosecutors failed to correct false testimony from key witness Justin Sneed, the admitted killer who avoided execution by testifying against Glossip.
The high court ordered a new trial, citing concerns that jurors never heard critical information about Sneed’s mental health history and credibility.
In Thursday’s order, Mai noted the unusually extensive record developed over nearly three decades of litigation and said the state could not meet the high constitutional standard required to deny bail in a capital case.
Former death row inmate Richard Glossip sits next to his lawyer Don Knight in an Oklahoma County courtroom in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, said that Glossip ate a remarkable three last meals and will get the chance “to taste freedom.”
“We are extremely grateful that Judge Natalie Mai has granted Richard Glossip a bond. In doing so, she rejected the State’s claim that there is a strong case for guilt. For the first time in 29 years of being incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, during which he faced nine execution dates and ate three last meals,” Knight said.
“Mr. Glossip now has the chance to taste freedom while his defense team continues to pursue justice on his behalf against a system that the United States Supreme Court has found to be guilty of serious misconduct by state prosecutors. Mr. Glossip is deeply grateful to the many thousands of people who have expressed support for him over the years and now looks forward to the day when he is exonerated and truly free from this decades-long nightmare.”
Former death row inmate Richard Glossip leaves an Oklahoma County courtroom in an Oklahoma County courtroom in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025. (© BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
He was convicted for the 1997 killing of his former boss, Barry Van Treese. The motel owner was beaten to death by Sneed, a maintenance worker, but state prosecutors said Glossip ordered him to carry out the crime in a murder-for-hire plot.
Glossip has been incarcerated since January 1997.
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