Richard Glossip, a former Oklahoma death-row inmate, walked out of jail Thursday for the first time in nearly 30 years after posting bond as his retrial approaches in a 1997 murder case. He left the jail in the custody of no longer being incarcerated, walking out hand-in-hand with his wife, Lea Glossip, as he was released while awaiting a new trial.
Judge Natalie Mai issued an order setting Glossip’s bond at $500,000 earlier Thursday. In the order, Mai required Glossip to wear an electronic monitoring device and barred him from traveling outside Oklahoma. The judge also ordered that Glossip not contact any witnesses in the case and not consume any drugs or alcohol while the matter proceeds.
Glossip’s attorney, Donald Knight, said the effort to meet the bond amount relied in part on supporters contributing to raise money. Knight said he was hopeful that “supporters can afford the bail,” adding that Glossip “has many supporters.” Glossip also expressed gratitude as he walked out, saying, “I’m just thankful for my wife and my attorneys. Just thankful,” and “It’s overwhelming, but it’s amazing at the same time.”
The case traces to Glossip’s death sentence over the 1997 killing in Oklahoma City of his former boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese. Prosecutors alleged that Van Treese was beaten with a baseball bat as part of a murder-for-hire scheme, which led to Glossip being sentenced to death in the prosecution that ultimately placed him on Oklahoma’s death row.
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Glossip’s conviction last year. The high court ruled that prosecutors’ decision to allow a key witness to testify in a manner they knew was false violated Glossip’s constitutional right to a fair trial.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced that the state would retry Glossip on a murder charge but would not seek the death penalty again. In the judge’s order setting bond, Mai wrote that “the court fully expects that the state will rigorously prosecute its case going forward and the defense will provide robust representation for Glossip,” and said the court hoped a new trial “free of error” would provide citizens of Oklahoma and other interested parties the closure they “deserve.”
During his time on death row, Glossip saw multiple execution dates set by Oklahoma courts—nine at different points—before his scheduled time to die arrived and passed. The process was repeatedly interrupted, including in 2015, when he was held in a cell near Oklahoma’s execution chamber, waiting to be strapped to a gurney and executed by lethal injection.
Glossip’s case also drew international attention. Actress Susan Sarandon, known for her role in “Dead Man Walking” as Sister Helen Prejean, took up Glossip’s cause in real life, and Glossip’s case later became the subject of the 2017 documentary film “Killing Richard Glossip.” In a text message to The Associated Press, Lea Glossip said, “Both Richard and I are grateful for the court’s decision. We have been praying for this day.”