Richard Glossip, previously convicted of murder and sentenced to death, has received a second chance at life after Oklahoma dismissed the murder charge, ultimately removing him from death row.
Charged to a Lesser Degree
On November 12, 2026, Glossip, 63, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of murder in the murder of his boss in 1997, acknowledging that he helped cover it up. “For 30 years, Richard Glossip has maintained his innocence,” Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, wrote in a statement to PEOPLE.
“After nearly executing him nine times, the State of Oklahoma has now dismissed the murder charge against him. This morning, to finally put this matter to rest, Rich pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.”
“We believe Rich has more than paid his debt to society by spending nearly 30 years on death row, during which time he was served three last meals, and came within minutes of being executed for a crime he did not commit,” Knight added.
Motel Murder
In 1997, Glossip worked at the Oklahoma City motel, owned by his boss, Barry Van Treese. Glossip was accused of orchestrating a murder-for-hire plot against Teese, who was beaten to death with a baseball bat. Prosecutors alleged that the motel worker offered $10,000 to the motel’s handyman, Justin Sneed, in exchange for the victim’s death.
Sneed received life in prison without parole after accepting a plea deal; in exchange for a guilty first-degree murder plea and testimony against Glossip, who received capital punishment.
An Unfair Trial
Glossip’s initial conviction in 1998 was overturned in 2001 on grounds of ineffective counsel, but he was reconvicted in 2004 and given the death penalty once again. He did not stop fighting in the years to follow, and it took nearly three decades, but in February 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction, finding there to be prosecutorial misconduct.
“Mr. Glossip’s conviction was based almost entirely on false statements made by Sneed that he later sought to recant,” Knight claimed.
The Supreme Court wrote in its decision to overturn that the prosecutors failed to correct Sneed’s false testimony or disclose his psychiatric condition, in addition to destroying evidence and withholding witness statements.
“Because Sneed’s testimony was the only direct evidence of Glossip’s guilt of capital murder, the jury’s assessment of Sneed’s credibility was necessarily determinative here,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her opinion.
Oklahoma and Victim’s Family Dissatisfied
Glossip spent nearly 30 years on death row for false claims that he orchestrated a murder. After his conviction was overturned in 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a new trial. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond agreed with the court’s decision, saying the accused “did not receive a fair trial.”
However, Drummond also said in a statement Thursday that it was a difficult decision to let the former inmate plead guilty to a lesser charge. “Today, Richard Glossip finally took some measure of responsibility for the murder of Barry Van Treese,” Drummond said.
“While allowing Glossip to plead guilty to the lesser-related charge of Accessory to First Degree Murder was a difficult decision for me and, more importantly, the Van Treese family, we both recognize that this path ensures a conviction related to Mr. Van Treese’s murder and gives us the best chance to secure additional prison time for Glossip.”
Death Row Inmate Walks Free
Glossip was freed in May 2026 on several conditions after being granted $500,000 bail by an Oklahoma judge. “I’m just thankful for my wife and my attorneys. Just thankful,” he said at the time of his release. “It’s overwhelming, but it’s amazing at the same time.”
Knight said Glossip continues to live “a peaceful and law-abiding life,” but he is scheduled for sentencing in December following his guilty plea on accessory charges. “We look forward to an opportunity to show why returning him to custody would not serve the interests of justice, and to ending this nightmare for Rich and all concerned,” Knight said.
