Former death row inmate who had three final meals returns to court for retrial
Mia Williams
Featured Image Credit: Oklahoma Department of Corrections, via AP/ CNN
A former Oklahoma death row prisoner who was given nine different execution dates is due to appear in court for a retrial, after being convicted of killing his former boss.
Richard Glossip's original conviction was overturned by the US Supreme Court last year, and he was released on bond by a state judge last month.
But the former inmate, 63, is due to appear in court today (June 23), to determine whether his case goes to retrial, or if he will be given another hearing to establish whether the evidence is strong enough to proceed.
He had been sentenced to death in 1997 over the killing of his motel owner boss, Barry Van Treese, who was allegedly beaten with baseball bat during a murder-for-hire.
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Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has said the state would seek to retry him on a murder charge but would not pursue the death penalty again, after Glossip has spent the majority of his life, 30 years, on death row.
He has maintained his innocence, and has drawn on support from Kim Kardashian to back his case, who paid $50,000 to secure his release last month.
Film producer Scott Budnick, a longtime advocate for Glossip, announced on Instagram that the reality star had posted the bond, writing that Glossip had been 'released on bail that was graciously paid for immediately by Kim Kardashian, who’s been fighting for Rich’s freedom for years'.
During his release, Glossip must wear an electronic monitoring device, remain inside Oklahoma, and refrain from contacting witnesses tied to the case.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that prosecutors’ decision to allow a key witness to give testimony they knew to be false violated his constitutional right to a fair trial.
During his extensive time on death row, Oklahoma courts set nine different execution dates for him - so much so that he ate three separate last 'final' meals that were returned.
He came the closest in 2015, when he was held in a cell next to the executive chamber, waiting to be strapped down and die by lethal injection.
According to the results of a study at Cornell University, anything 'fried' is the most popular death row meal request.
They often include things like Kentucky Fried Chicken or Burger King, milkshakes, and ice cream - a kind of easy, nostalgic food.
But alcohol is banned for death row prisoners, so sodas make a common appearance.