A former death row inmate who has been so close to execution that he's had three last meals has been released after nearly 30 years behind bars.
Oklahoma County District Judge Natalie Mai on May 14 set bail at $500,000 for Richard Glossip as he awaits a third trial in a 1997 murder-for-hire case. He posted it later in the day and walked out a free man. At least for now.
Glossip has received public support both nationally and internationally, including from celebrities like Kim Kardashian. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction, siding with both his own lawyers and the state of Oklahoma, who said he didn't get a fair trial.
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In a rare move, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond concluded that trial attorneys hid evidence that might have led to an acquittal.
Glossip's execution had been scheduled nine separate times before being called off, and he came so close to death that he had three last meals.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Glossip's attorneys said they were grateful for Mai's ruling that cleared the way for his release.
"In doing so, she rejected the State’s claim that there is a strong case for guilt," they said. "Mr. Glossip now has the chance to taste freedom while his defense team continues to pursue justice on his behalf against a system that the United States Supreme Court has found to be guilty of serious misconduct by state prosecutors."
They continued to say that Glossip "is deeply grateful to the many thousands of people who have expressed support for him over the years and now looks forward to the day when he is exonerated and truly free from this decades-long nightmare.”
The state maintains that they have strong evidence against Glossip for his third trial.
“While we disagree with the court's decision, we remain focused on retrying this case and securing a third conviction," said Leslie Berger, press secretary for the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office. "Ultimately, the question of the defendant's guilt or innocence will once again be decided by a jury of Oklahoma citizens − not a judge.”
Here's what else you need to know.
More about Richard Glossip's case
Glossip is accused of having his boss, Barry Van Treese, an Oklahoma City motel owner, killed in 1997 to keep from being fired for embezzlement. Glossip was the motel manager.
Van Treese, 54, was found beaten to death in Room 102 of the Best Budget Inn on Jan. 7, 1997.
Justin Sneed, a motel maintenance man, confessed to killing Van Treese with a baseball bat in the motel room. He said Glossip pressured him into doing it and offered him $10,000 as payment. Sneed was the key witness against Glossip at the first two trials and is expected to testify again at the third trial.
Glossip's attorneys claim Sneed actually killed the motel owner during a botched robbery for drug money. They claim he incriminated Glossip to avoid getting the death penalty himself and later considered recanting his testimony.
Glossip was convicted and sentenced to death the first time in 1998. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals threw out that conviction in 2001 because of issues with his defense attorney. He was convicted and sentenced to death the second time at a 2004 retrial.
He came the closest to being executed on Sept. 30, 2015. He was three hours away from execution when a doctor realized a pharmacist had supplied the wrong drug for the lethal injection. The execution was called off.
Richard Glossip gets support from Hollywood
Richard Glossip's case has received widespread attention over the years. Celebrities include Kim Kardashian and Susan Sarandon have posted about their support, and "Dr. Phil" McGraw spoke at a rally in favor of his release in 2023.
“If you do the crime, you should do the time,” McGraw said. “But if you’re doing time and didn’t commit the crime, that’s a crime.”
Kim Kardashian said in a post on X in 2023 that she believed Glossip was innocent and that he "deserves a full pardon."
"We cannot execute another man especially for a crime he didn’t commit!" she wrote. "Everyone has to hear about Richard Glossip."
Actress Susan Sarandon − who portrayed death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean in the 1995 movie "Dead Man Walking" − also took up Glossip's cause.
In 2015, she posted that she was pleased that a court ruling at the time would allow "his legal team time to find additional proof of his innocence."
What happens now?
Richard Glossip is now free as he awaits his third trial, which has not been set.
In her ruling Thursday, Mai wrote that she "expects that the state will rigorously prosecute its case going forward and the defense will provide robust representation for Glossip."
“The court hopes that a new trial, free of error, will provided all interested parties and the citizens of Oklahoma, the closure they deserve," she said.
Contributing: Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY and Josh Dulaney, The Oklahoman
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers the death penalty, cold case investigations and breaking news for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-death row inmate who's had 3 last meals wins freedom. For now.
