A dramatic new chapter is unfolding in the long-running case of Richard Glossip, the former Oklahoma death row inmate whose decades-long fight for freedom has drawn the attention and support of Kim Kardashian and other high-profile advocates.
Glossip, who spent nearly 30 years behind bars and came within days of execution multiple times, is set to return to court Tuesday as prosecutors move forward with a retrial in the 1997 killing that put him on death row.
The hearing will determine whether the case goes directly to trial or whether the prosecution receives another review to decide whether there is enough evidence to continue.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned Glossip’s conviction last year, 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.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has said the state will retry Glossip on a murder charge but will not seek the death penalty this time.
Glossip was convicted in the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Oklahoma City motel where Glossip worked. Prosecutors alleged Van Treese was beaten to death in a murder-for-hire scheme. Glossip has consistently maintained that he was wrongly convicted.
The case gained national attention after Kardashian became one of Glossip’s most visible supporters, using her platform to highlight his claims of innocence and the questions surrounding the prosecution. Her involvement helped bring renewed public scrutiny to a case that had already become one of the most controversial death penalty cases in the country.
Glossip’s supporters argue that the evidence against him was deeply flawed, while Van Treese’s family has urged courts to uphold his conviction and sentence.
During his time on death row, Glossip faced nine scheduled execution dates. He came so close to execution that he prepared three separate last meals, and in 2015 he was held near Oklahoma’s execution chamber while awaiting lethal injection before his execution was delayed.
Now, after years of legal battles and a high-profile campaign that included Kardashian’s support, Glossip’s fate returns to the courtroom.
