Richard Glossip faces third trial in Oklahoma after nine execution dates and Supreme Court reversal
By Chantelle Navarro
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — Richard Glossip, whose decades-long legal battle has included multiple trials and stays of execution, will face a third trial starting Sept. 28 after a judge denied his attorneys’ request for a new preliminary hearing.
Glossip was first arrested in January 1997, accused of orchestrating the murder of his former boss and motel owner, Barry Van Treese. Prosecutors allege Justin Sneed admitted that Glossip paid him to commit the crime.
“Looking at the evidence, there’s no doubt Glossip might be innocent,” Don Knight, Glossip’s defense attorney, previously said.
In 2001, a court ruled Glossip did not have adequate counsel, leading to a retrial in 2004, where he was again sentenced to die. The Supreme Court later overturned that conviction, citing trial errors and the state’s use of testimony it knew to be false.
Glossip has faced nine execution dates and three last meals, with one instance involving a near mix-up of the lethal injection drug cocktail.
His case has drawn attention from high-profile figures, including Richard Branson and Kim Kardashian, who recently helped pay his bond.
Glossip returned to court Tuesday as his attorneys sought to restart the case with a new preliminary hearing, citing improper counsel.
“I’ve been practicing law for 20 years, and I can say I’ve never seen a motion filed like the one the defense filed in this case. There’s really no statutory basis for a judge to take a case and start it over again,” Legal expert Ed Blau, who is not related to the case, said.
Judge Natalie Mai denied the request and instead set a trial date for Sept. 28, which is expected to last two weeks.
Glossip walked out of the courthouse hand in hand with his wife, preparing for a third trial just months before the case reaches its 30-year mark.
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