Former death row inmate Richard Glossip is set to be released on bond as he awaits retrial over a 1997 killing for which he was nearly executed three times — and had three last meal requests.
Examining the “ample” record in Glossip’s case, Judge Natalie Mai found Thursday that she could not deny bail to the longtime prisoner, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1998.
She issued an order setting bond at $500,000 and mandated that Glossip remain in Oklahoma wearing an electronic monitoring device.
The ruling comes after the U.S. Supreme Court in February overturned Glossip’s conviction and death sentence, finding prosecutors failed to correct false testimony from key witness Justin Sneed, the admitted killer who avoided execution by testifying against Glossip.
SUPREME COURT TOSSES CONVICTION AND DEATH SENTENCE OF OKLAHOMA INMATE, ORDERS NEW TRIAL
The high court ordered a new trial, citing concerns that jurors never heard critical information about Sneed’s mental health history and credibility.
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In Thursday’s order, Mai noted the unusually extensive record developed over nearly three decades of litigation and said the state could not meet the high constitutional standard required to deny bail in a capital case.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, said that Glossip ate a remarkable three last meals and will get the chance “to taste freedom.”
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“We are extremely grateful that Judge Natalie Mai has granted Richard Glossip a bond. In doing so, she rejected the State’s claim that there is a strong case for guilt. For the first time in 29 years of being incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, during which he faced nine execution dates and ate three last meals,” Knight said.
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“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. Mr. 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.”
He was convicted for the 1997 killing of his former boss, Barry Van Treese. The motel owner was beaten to death by Sneed, a maintenance worker, but state prosecutors said Glossip ordered him to carry out the crime in a murder-for-hire plot.
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Glossip has been incarcerated since January 1997.