The United States Supreme Court has thrown out the death sentence and murder conviction of Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for decades.
In a 5-3 vote, justices overturned the conviction and ordered a new trial for Glossip, saying prosecutors violated Glossip’s right to a fair trial when his case was tried more than 20 years ago.
“Glossip is entitled to a new trial,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the majority opinion. Justices Samual Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, arguing in favor of upholding the death sentence.
The prosecutor in charge of Glossip’s new case would likely be Oklahoma County District Attorney Vickie Behenna. Behenna said she will “review the entire opinion.” She has been reluctant to use the death penalty, except in the most extreme of circumstances.
Glossip was convicted for the 1997 killing of his former boss and motel owner, Barry Van Treese, in Oklahoma City. Glossip has always denied the murder charge, despite acknowledging he misled investigators in the aftermath of the crime.
Evidence implicating Glossip in court came from Justin Sneed, a handyman who confessed to bludgeoning Van Treese to death because Glossip promised to pay him $10,000.
Sneed avoided the death penalty in exchange for his testimony against Glossip. Glossip denies he ever offered to pay Sneed for the killing. As the star witness in his trial, Glossip’s prosecution hinged on Sneed’s word.
Further investigations reveal Sneed lied under oath and prosecutors withheld information about his character and poor mental health from the jury.
A fresh investigation into the credibility of his trial began in 2023 after Attorney General Gentner Drummond took office. New evidence, including an “eighth box,” brought the case’s resting decision into question.
While Drummond has not affirmed Glossip’s innocence, the investigation spurred by his office helped bring the case to the Supreme Court.
“Because Sneed’s testimony was the only direct evidence of Glossip’s guilt, the jury’s assessment of Sneed’s credibility was material and necessarily determinative,” the high court decision reads.
Oklahoma’s top criminal appeals court repeatedly upheld Glossip’s conviction and sentence, even after Drummond and the state sided with Glossip. His case appeared in front of the Supreme Court in 2015 for an appeal involving the proposed method of execution but failed to be thrown out.
Throughout all the appeals, Glossip has remained on death row. He has had nine execution dates and sat down to eat his “last meal” more than once.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to vacate Glossip’s conviction and death sentence, Drummond sent out a press release calling for celebration.
“A great injustice has been swept away,” Drummond wrote.
It took 62 Oklahoma legislators, including at least 45 Republican lawmakers who support the death penalty, calling for an investigation, two independent probes and years in court for this day to arrive.
David Weiss, who co-led an investigation into Glossip’s case, said he was grateful for the decision but there is more work to be done.
“That it takes so many people, working literally tens of thousands of hours, to convince five Supreme Court justices that his conviction was so flawed, suggests that our system of justice needs serious reform,” David said.
This report was produced by the Oklahoma Public Media Exchange, a collaboration of public media organizations. Help support collaborative journalism by donating at the link at the top of this webpage.
