Oklahoma | Richard Glossip moved to Oklahoma County Detention Center after decades on death row

After nearly 30 years behind bars, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that Glossip did not receive a fair trial.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Richard Glossip, who spent decades on death row and came close to the execution chamber several times, has been moved to the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

Online records show that Glossip was booked into the Oklahoma County jail shortly after 2:40 a.m. Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge. He was previously being held at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Glossip, who is being held without bond, was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot of hotel owner Barry Van Treese in January 1997. He has maintained his innocence since his conviction, and experts said evidence was withheld during his trial.

After nearly 30 years behind bars, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February that Glossip did not receive a fair trial, throwing out the conviction and death sentence. The high court ruled that Glossip's trial was invalid because prosecutors knowingly allowed false testimony from a witness.

The Supreme Court's ruling did not release him from custody, but it did remove him from death row. Now, Glossip and his legal team have another chance to prove his innocence.

"He had nine execution dates, three last meals, and obviously, to finally get relief has been huge for him, and he’s thrilled beyond words," Don Knight, attorney for Glossip, said in February.

The state of Oklahoma will now take another look at Glossip's case, interview witnesses and potentially put him back on trial. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said shortly after the Supreme Court's ruling that he and Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna will decide if they want to try for a lesser crime, life without parole or try the death penalty again.

"I believe under today’s standard very few prosecutors would seek the death penalty," Drummond said in February. Even if Glossip gets a lesser sentence, he could spend more time behind bars.

How that case will be prosecuted is up in the air. The Oklahoma County District Attorney's Office will have several factors to weigh. "It remains to be seen what will happen, if there’s sufficient evidence, if witnesses are still available," said Mike McBride III with Crowe & Dunlevy Attorneys and Counselors at Law.

What happens next for Richard Glossip after SCOTUS throws out murder conviction?

In 2023, Drummond directed an independent counsel to review Glossip's murder conviction and death sentence. That counsel found lost evidence. "After AG Drummond took another look, they released seven or eight boxes of evidence that were withheld from the defendants in the first case," McBride said.

Source: koco.com, Staff, April 22, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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