Richard Glossip, ex-death row inmate, set for release after nearly three decades behind bars |
Richard Glossip, ex-death row inmate, set for release after nearly three decades behind bars
Former death row inmate Richard Glossip is set to be released on bond as he awaits retrial over a 1997 killing for which he was nearly executed three times, an Oklahoma judge ruled Thursday.
Examining the “ample” record in Glossip’s case, Judge Natalie Mai found that she could not deny bail to the longtime prisoner. She issued an order setting bond at $500,000 and mandated that Glossip remain in Oklahoma wearing an electronic monitoring device.
“The Court fully expects that the State will rigorously prosecute its case going forward and the defense will provide robust and effective representation for Glossip,” the judge wrote. “The Court hopes that a new trial, free of error, will provide all interested parties, and the citizens of Oklahoma, the closure they deserve.”
Glossip has lived through nine execution dates and eaten his “last meal” three times.
He was convicted for the 1997 killing of his former boss, Barry Van Treese. The motel owner was beaten to death by Justin Sneed, a maintenance worker, but state prosecutors said Glossip ordered him to carry out the crime in a murder-for-hire plot.
To evade the death penalty, Sneed agreed to plead guilty and testify against Glossip. He was sentenced to life in prison, while a jury found Glossip guilty and sentenced him to death in 1998. That conviction was overturned due to........