Ex-Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip Pleads Guilty to Lesser Charge in 1997 Murder Case

Richard Glossip, a former death row inmate who spent nearly 30 years in prison, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge on Thursday morning.

The plea to being an accessory to murder after the fact resulted in the dismissal of the original murder charge against him, according to his attorney, Don Knight. This legal pivot follows a U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Glossip’s prior conviction, citing that prosecutors had admitted testimony they knew to be false.

Richard Glossip pleads guilty to accessory to murder in 1997 case — KOKH – FOX 25

“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.

The case stems from the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, a motel owner in Oklahoma City who was beaten to death with a baseball bat. While Glossip has maintained his innocence for nearly three decades, the new plea acknowledges allegations that he helped place plexiglass over a broken window at the hotel and saw the body without notifying police, wtop.com reported.

US Oklahoma Death Sentence Overturned — Photo: wtop.com

The long road to a retrial

Glossip’s legal battle has been defined by extreme proximity to death. Since his 1998 conviction, Oklahoma courts scheduled nine different execution dates for him. He was so close to being executed on multiple occasions that he was served three separate last meals.

In 2015, the tension reached a peak when Glossip was held in a cell adjacent to the Oklahoma execution chamber, waiting for a lethal injection that never came. That specific procedure was halted after prison officials discovered a mistake regarding the lethal drugs required for the protocol, an error that contributed to a nearly seven-year moratorium on executions in the state.

Richard Glossip pleads guilty to accessory to first-degree murder in connection with 1997 killing — KOCO 5 News

The path to this Thursday’s plea began when the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction after determining he had not received a fair trial. Following that ruling, Glossip was released on bond in May to await a retrial.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond had previously announced his intention to retry Glossip on a first-degree murder charge, though he stated he would not seek the death penalty. Drummond acknowledged the Supreme Court’s findings, calling it “an undeniable fact that he did not receive a fair trial.”

Richard Glossip accepts plea deal after decades on death row — KOCO 5 News

Prosecutors seek maximum sentence

The decision to accept a plea deal rather than proceeding to a full murder trial was a strategic move intended to secure a conviction and prison time. Prosecutors are now seeking a maximum 45-year sentence for the accessory charge.

“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,” Drummond said in a statement.

Drummond said that the decision was a difficult one, particularly regarding the interests of the Van Treese family. The prosecution’s case originally relied heavily on Justin Sneed, who admitted to robbing and killing Van Treese but testified that he did so after Glossip promised him a $10,000 payment. Sneed was sentenced to life in prison.

Richard Glossip pleads guilty to accessory charge; see his statement — The Oklahoman

While the state pursues additional prison time, Glossip’s defense emphasizes the decades already served. Knight said that if prosecutors had originally pursued the accessory charge in 1997, Glossip would have been released a decade ago.

The legal proceedings regarding the specific length of his sentence are expected to continue in the coming weeks. Glossip’s sentencing is scheduled to be held in December.