New trial ordered for former Oklahoma death-row inmate who faced execution nine times

A judge in Oklahoma has ordered a new trial for Richard Glossip, a former death-row inmate whose 1997 murder conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025 over serious procedural flaws.

New trial ordered for former Oklahoma death-row inmate who faced execution nine times

A judge in Oklahoma has scheduled a new trial for Richard Glossip, a man who spent nearly three decades in prison for the 1997 murder of his former employer and came within days of execution on nine separate occasions.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Glossip's conviction in 2025, ruling that critical testimony used against him contained false information and that serious procedural problems had tainted the original trial. A state judge later released him on bail last month.

Following a hearing this week, an Oklahoma judge set the retrial to begin on September 28. The state Attorney General has announced plans to prosecute Glossip again for first-degree murder, though prosecutors will not seek the death penalty this time.

Glossip was originally convicted in the killing of Barry Van Treese, the owner of a motel in Oklahoma City. Prosecutors alleged that Glossip orchestrated a murder-for-hire plot in which Van Treese was beaten to death with a baseball bat. The state's case relied heavily on the testimony of a co-defendant who had agreed to cooperate in exchange for avoiding execution.

The Supreme Court found that prosecutors had presented testimony they knew or should have known was false, violating Glossip's right to a fair trial. Glossip has always maintained his innocence, and his case has drawn national attention and support from public figures including reality television star Kim Kardashian.

During the 28 years Glossip spent on Oklahoma's death row, nine execution dates were set for him, though none were carried out.

Source: ERT News

Source: ERT