In a 5-3 decision the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip today and remanded it for consideration of a new trial after the State of Oklahoma admitted to prosecutorial misconduct.
Chief Justice John Roberts, Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Sonia Sotomayor voted to vacate Glossip’s murder conviction for the slaying of motel owner Barry Van Treese, writing that “the prosecution violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony.” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote her own opinion, partially agreeing with the majority but stopping short of vacating Glossip’s conviction.
Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate.
Glossip’s case has traveled a long and winding road. Two years ago, justices spared Glossip from execution pending the resolution of his appeal. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued for clemency for Glossip in front of the state’s Pardon and Parole Board in August 2023. Drummond, who is now a candidate for governor, told the board he believed Glossip was guilty of being an accessory to murder after the fact, and may very well have murdered Van Treese, but the quality of the 2004 trial and questions that have arisen since then make the death penalty excessive. That board ultimately denied Drummond’s request.
“My position from the beginning is that I’m troubled by this issue, but I would confirm that I believe Mr. Glossip is, in fact, guilty of at least accessory after the fact,” Drummond told the board in August 2023. “More likely than not, he’s guilty of murder. But I don’t believe that the evidence presents he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and that is my concern. I believe that when we view the cumulative nature of the facts, I have reached the difficult decision that the state cannot proceed in confidence with the conviction that would result in the death penalty.
“I believe this board should support a recommendation of clemency based on the complete record that includes evidence the jury did not hear. I believe it is a great injustice to allow the execution of a man whose trial was plagued by many errors.”
In 1997, Glossip was initially charged with accessory to murder following the killing of Van Treese, who was Glossip’s boss at the time. Justin Sneed, one of Glossip’s coworkers, later confessed to beating Van Treese to death and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole after telling prosecutors that Glossip had hired him to commit the murder.
Glossip was eventually charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1998. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned that conviction for ineffective assistance of counsel, but Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death again at a 2004 retrial.
One of Van Treese’s children, Derek, released a statement Tuesday afternoon requesting a third trial for Glossip, who he said “is undeniably guilty of first-degree murder.”
“For the last 10,276 days, we’ve been waiting for justice for the murder of Barry Van Treese. The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that one small bit of impeachment evidence should have been presented at Glossip’s trial and has remanded for a new trial. Both previous Oklahoma juries made it clear that the issue at hand isn’t one of guilt or innocence — Glossip is undeniably guilty of first degree murder. The burning issue here and now is of process and procedure,” Derek Van Treese said. “While it may be difficult to start fresh on a 28-year-old case, I urge the attorney general and the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office to demonstrate the same perseverance that our family has shown throughout this process. We pray that they exhibit the fortitude to take politics out of the equation and process this case as the death penalty case it is, and not take the easy road of a lesser charge. If they find that they are not up to the task, and unable to shoulder the burden, they should recuse themselves and allow someone with the aptitude and skill necessary to prosecute this case so it can finally be laid to rest, once and for all.
“The family remains confident that when that new trial is held, the jury will return the same verdict as in the first two trials: guilty of first degree murder.”
Drummond, who argued before the Supreme Court that Glossip’s conviction should be vacated, praised Tuesday’s ruling.
“Our justice system is greatly diminished when an individual is convicted without a fair trial, but today we can celebrate that a great injustice has been swept away,” Drummond said in a statement. “I am pleased the high court has validated my grave concerns with how this prosecution was handled, and I am thankful we now have a fresh opportunity to see that justice is done.”
Drummond argued that prosecutors had notes indicating that Sneed had a diagnosed mental health disorder and that they failed to correct misinformation or disclose credibility concerns with Sneed’s testimony at trial. The majority of the court agreed with that assessment.
“Here, Oklahoma’s attorney general joins Glossip in asserting a Napue error, conceding that Sneed’s testimony about his lithium prescription was false and that the prosecution knowingly failed to correct it,” justices wrote. “The record supports that confession of error. Evidence showed that Sneed was prescribed lithium to treat bipolar disorder, not after asking for cold medicine as he claimed at trial. The evidence likewise establishes that the prosecution knew Sneed’s testimony was false. The prosecution almost certainly had access to Sneed’s medical file through Sneed’s competency evaluation. And (prosecutor Connie) Smothermon’s notes show that she had a pre-trial conversation with Sneed at which he mentioned ‘lithium’ and ‘Dr. Trumpet.’ The straightforward inference is that Smothermon was aware before trial that Sneed had received his lithium prescription from Dr. Trombka, a psychiatrist and the sole medical professional at the Oklahoma County jail authorized to prescribe lithium.”
Lea Glossip told the Associated Press that she and her husband found out about the decision at the same time.
“Rich and I opened the decision together on the phone this morning, knowing it would be a life-changing moment,” she said. “To say that we are overcome with emotion is an understatement. We are deeply grateful. Today is truly an answered prayer.”
In a statement, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna said she will work with Drummond to determine whether Glossip should be tried for a third time. Previously, she indicated that Glossip’s case would not be pursued as a death penalty case if she were prosecuting it today.
“This morning, I had initial conversations with Attorney General Gentner Drummond regarding today’s Supreme Court decision on the Richard Glossip case,” Behenna said. “I will review the entire opinion and at that time will discuss next steps together with the attorney general.”
Oklahoma Coalition Against the Death Penalty chairman The Rev. Don Heath praised the SCOTUS ruling.
“This is wonderful news,” he said. “The US Supreme Court is still capable of doing the right thing. Congratulations to Richard and Lea Glossip. Hopefully their suffering is at an end. Congratulations to Glossip’s legal team for this amazing result.”
(Update: This article was updated at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, to include comment from Derek Van Treese.)
