Oklahoma Judge Grants Bond to Richard Glossip Ahead of Retrial for Barry Van Treese Murder

Former Oklahoma Death Row inmate Richard Glossip was granted bond by an Oklahoma County judge, with the ruling issued Thursday and bail set at $500,000 as he awaits a retrial for the 1997 murder of Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese.

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The case centers on prosecutors’ allegation that Glossip arranged for a co-worker, Justin Sneed, to kill Van Treese, and Sneed admitted to beating Van Treese to death and testified against Glossip in exchange for avoiding the death penalty.

CBS News

Glossip, who spent more than 20 years on death row before his conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2025, has remained in the Oklahoma County Jail while the case moves toward a retrial.

Prosecutors said they will not seek the death penalty in the case, and the bond decision came after defense attorneys sought to enforce a previously discussed agreement with the state that prosecutors argued was never finalized.

As part of the bond conditions, Glossip will be monitored by GPS during pre-trial release and will only be allowed to reside with his spouse at their home.

Oklahoma County District Judge Natalie Mai set Glossip’s bond at $500,000 in a new order that also required him to wear an electronic monitoring device and barred him from traveling outside the state while he awaits retrial.

CNN reported that Mai wrote, "The Court finds it cannot deny bail to Glossip," and the order cited a 2023 letter by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond acknowledging the evidence "does not support that he is guilty of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt."

CNN

Glossip’s attorney Don Knight said in a statement obtained by CNN, "Rich is just thrilled to have the opportunity to have some real life," after Glossip told reporters he was thankful for his wife and his attorneys and said he was "just really happy."

The bond conditions described by CNN included a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and a requirement that Glossip not have contact with any potential witnesses or the victim’s family members unless contact is made through their attorneys.

CNN also said Glossip’s next court date is scheduled for June 23 as prosecutors work to retry the case after the Supreme Court’s February 2025 decision.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the state intends to retry Glossip for Van Treese’s death but will not seek the death penalty again, and CNN reported that prosecutors agreed to retry the case in June 2025.

“After 29 years, nine execution dates and three last meals, former death row inmate Richard Glossip is out on bond Thursday awaiting retrial after his previous conviction in the murder-for-hire plot of his former boss was overturned by the Supreme Court last year, his attorney told CNN”

CNN

The Hill quoted Drummond’s office spokesperson Shauna Peters saying, "While we disagree with the court’s decision, we remain focused on retrying this case and securing a third conviction of Richard Glossip for the murder of Barry Van Treese," as the legal fight moves to a new trial.

CNN described how the Supreme Court overturned Glossip’s conviction and death sentence in February 2025, finding prosecutors failed to correct false testimony from Justin Sneed and that the correction would have revealed Sneed’s untrustworthiness to the jury.

CBS News reported that Glossip was convicted twice of capital murder and that Sneed received a lifetime prison sentence, while Glossip was sentenced to death, before the Supreme Court ordered a new trial.

With Glossip out on bond after nearly 30 years, the sources say the immediate stakes are a retrial in Oklahoma City’s 1997 murder case and whether a jury of Oklahoma citizens will decide guilt or innocence after the Supreme Court’s findings about prosecutorial misconduct.