Oklahoma County District Court Judge Heather Coyle denied a bond request made by Richard Glossip in a ruling late this afternoon.
Glossip had sought to be released on bond as he waits for a new trial — his third for a 1997 murder that has twice landed him on death row. In her Wednesday ruling, Coyle denied bond because she believes the state has shown that the presumption of Glossip’s guilt in the case is significant.
“Having considered the record, arguments of all parties, and the exhibits submitted by the parties, the court finds that the state has sufficiently shown by clear and convincing evidence that the presumption of the defendant’s guilt of a capital offense is great,” Coyle wrote. “Accordingly, the court finds Mr. Glossip’s request for bond should be, and is hereby, denied.”
In 1997, Glossip was initially charged with accessory to murder following the killing of Barry Van Treese, who was Glossip’s boss at the time at an OKC motel. Justin Sneed, one of Glossip’s coworkers, then confessed to beating Van Treese to death and received a sentence of life without the possibility of parole after telling prosecutors Glossip had induced 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. But with Attorney General Gentner Drummond stating that prosecutors had failed to provide relevant information about Sneed’s mental health background to Glossip’s defense team, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Glossip is entitled to a new trial earlier this year. Drummond’s office has chosen to retry Glossip for the murder without seeking the death penalty.
Coyle’s order (embedded below) to deny Glossip’s bond means he will remain in custody while his case moves forward. In her order, Coyle recounted witness testimony about Glossip’s alleged motive for killing Van Treese and the conflicting stories he told others and investigators about what happened.
Decision pending on purported 2023 ‘agreement’
On Monday, Glossip, his attorneys and prosecutors from Drummond’s office went before Coyle for a status hearing. Little was discussed in the brief appearance, though Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, took issue with the state’s characterization of their response to a potential plea deal that had been offered two years ago by Drummond when Glossip’s appeal was pending before the Court of Criminal Appeals.
Knight is asking Coyle to enforce a 2023 email “agreement” with Drummond that would release Glossip from prison, although other emails indicate Knight did not present his client with specific details of the agreement and a drafted contract was never signed by the parties.
“The parties stipulate and agree that, with this credit being applied, Mr. Glossip is eligible for immediate release as his sentence was completed in 2016,” Knight wrote in a 2023 email. “Mr. Glossip, upon entry of the plea and sentence, which will be completed in a single proceeding, will be be immediately released, and will not be placed on probation, parole or post-imprisonment supervision. He will not be required to pay any fines, costs, or fees associated with his case. He will not be required to pay any restitution as a result of this plea. The state of Oklahoma will have no further right to claim any time, or anything of value, from Mr. Glossip resulting from the events that began on Jan. 7, 1997, and continue through the date of his plea and sentencing.”
Several hours later, Drummond responded by email that he was “in agreement” with the proposed deal.
Drummond filed a same-day response to Knight’s motion emphasizing that the 2023 release-dismissal agreement had never been finalized, as evidenced by Knight’s own correspondence.
“The email reflects Attorney General Drummond agreed the ‘basic terms’ of what had been discussed were correctly identified, but that as Mr. Knight made clear the defendant’s attorneys were still ‘preparing’ their ‘more detailed’ proposed agreement which would be subject to further revision and ultimately approval by the attorney general,” the state’s response said.
Glossip is next set to appear in court on Aug. 14 for another status conference, where the parties could determine whether and when to set a hearing on Knight’s motion to enforce the purported 2023 agreement. There is currently no set date for his new trial in Oklahoma County.
View Coyle’s order denying Glossip’s bond request
