Richard Glossip has faced nine execution dates since his murder conviction 27 years ago and eaten his “last” meal three times. Now, after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated his conviction and sent the case back to Oklahoma County for a new trial, Glossip appears set to be prosecuted once again. This time, however, prosecutors say he will not face the death penalty if convicted.
Both of Glossip’s attorneys and state prosecutors took part in a status conference before Oklahoma County District Court Judge Heather Coyle today, the first hearing since the Supreme Court vacated Glossip’s conviction in February. Glossip is set to appear in court again June 17 for a bond hearing in his homicide case that started in Oklahoma County in the late 1990s. Glossip was charged with first-degree murder for the 1997 beating death of OKC motel owner Barry Van Treese, for whom Glossip worked. A jury convicted Glossip of the murder in 1998, and he was sentenced to death. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals overturned that conviction for ineffective assistance of counsel, but Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death a second time at a 2004 retrial.
Glossip’s co-worker, Justin Sneed, confessed to the murder and testified that Glossip paid him to commit the crime. But nearly 30 years later, with the Supreme Court saying Sneed’s mental health condition an medication history should have been disclosed to Glossip’s defense counsel, Glossip’s ultimate fate remains undetermined.
After getting verdict vacated, Drummond takes over retrial
Two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court 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 at least accessory after the fact” and “more likely than not” guilty for Van Treese’s murder, but he said the quality of the 2004 trial and evidentiary questions that have arisen since then make the death penalty excessive. The Pardon and Parole Board ultimately denied Drummond’s request, and Glossip’s attorneys appealed further to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In a 5-3Â decision in February, the Supreme Court remanded the case for consideration of a new trial because Drummond said prosecutorial misconduct had occurred involving Sneed’s mental health information that should have been made available in Glossip’s defense. Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor and Chief Justice John Roberts voted to vacate. Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself, having been involved in prior litigation involving Glossip.
As evidenced by Monday’s new hearing, Drummond’s office now will re-prosecute the case, taking over jurisdiction from Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna. The attorney general now finds himself in a unique position: After questioning Glossip’s guilt to the Pardon and Parole Board and then lobbying the Supreme Court to overturn his conviction, Drummond will now fight to secure a new one. With nearly 30 years passed since the crime occurred, Drummond’s office may run into other logistical issues, such as securing good testimony from witnesses after so much time has elapsed.
In a statement released Monday, Drummond tried to thread those prosecutorial and political needles.
“While it was clear to me and to the U.S. Supreme Court that Mr. Glossip did not receive a fair trial, I have never proclaimed his innocence,” Drummond said in the statement. “After the high court remanded the matter back to the district court, my office thoroughly reviewed the merits of the case against Richard Glossip and concluded that sufficient evidence exists to secure a murder conviction. The same United States Constitution that guarantees our rights also ensures the rights of the accused. Unlike past prosecutors who allowed a key witness to lie on the stand, my office will make sure Mr. Glossip receives a fair trial based on hard facts, solid evidence and truthful testimony.”
Drummond said he is not seeking the death penalty for Glossip because Sneed already confessed to the murder of Van Treese and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
‘A number of evidentiary developments over the years’
During Monday’s 15-minute status conference, Glossip wore an orange Oklahoma County Detention Center jumpsuit with his arms and feet shackled. The 62-year-old briefly greeted supporters as deputies brought him into the courtroom, where Coyle set a bond hearing for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 17.
No new trial date was set, though Coyle requested that attorneys for both sides discuss a possible length of a trial so she could find it a spot on her court’s docket. Glosslip’s attorney, Andrea Miller, told Coyle that she plans to present her client’s case for a potential bond at the next court appearance.
Jimmy Harmon, who serves as the chief of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office Criminal Division, said he would likely object to Glossip being granted bond but had not yet reviewed the motion.
“I know that on Friday that the defense filed a motion to set bond, and I would like to object to that, but I would like some time to respond to that motion,” Harmon said. “I haven’t read it yet. I was in and out of the office on Friday, so I would need a week to 10 days to respond.”
Miller and Glossip’s other attorney, Corbin Brewster, said they have also filed a motion requesting a new preliminary hearing.
“There was a preliminary hearing in 1997, and that conviction was overturned, and there was never another preliminary hearing, and there have also been a number of evidentiary developments over the years,” Brewester told Coyle.
Coyle said Brewster would need to file the appropriate motion and the state would need to respond before she could decide whether to hold a preliminary hearing.
The beginnings of a new trial for Glossip come just days before the state’s next scheduled execution. John Fitzgerald Hanson has been scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Hanson was convicted of the 1999 murder of 77-year-old Mary Bowles, whom he kidnapped and later shot in Owasso. On Monday, Oklahoma County District Judge Richard Ogden issued a temporary stay of Hanson’s execution. However, on Wednesday the Court of Criminal Appeals vacated Ogden’s stay, ruling that the district court judge was “not authorized” to issue one.
(Correction: This article was updated at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, June 10, to correct the name of John Fitzgerald Hanson. The article was also updated to include information about court decisions regarding Hanson’s execution. It was updated again at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, to note the Court of Criminal Appeals’ decision to vacate the stay of execution for John Fitzgerald Hanson.)
