Hearing Tuesday to Decide if Glossip Murder Case Goes to Retrial or Needs Further Review

Richard Glossip is scheduled to return to court Tuesday for a hearing in the retrial proceedings related to the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese. The hearing will determine whether the case proceeds directly to trial or whether prosecutors receive another review to decide if there is sufficient evidence to continue.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond stated that the state will retry Glossip on a murder charge but will not seek the death penalty.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned Glossip’s conviction last year after finding that prosecutors violated his constitutional rights by allowing a key witness to provide testimony they knew was false. A state judge later released Glossip on bond. Glossip was convicted in the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel where Glossip worked.

Prosecutors alleged that Van Treese was beaten to death in a murder-for-hire scheme. Glossip has consistently maintained that he was wrongly convicted. Glossip spent nearly 30 years behind bars and faced nine scheduled execution dates.

He prepared three separate last meals while facing execution and came within days of execution multiple times, including in 2015 when he was held near Oklahoma’s execution chamber before his execution was delayed. Kim Kardashian became one of Glossip’s most visible supporters and used her platform to highlight his claims of innocence.

Van Treese’s family has urged courts to uphold Glossip’s conviction and sentence.