Supreme Court Throws Out Murder Conviction of Death Row Inmate Richard Glossip, Orders New Trial

The U.S. Supreme Court has thrown out the murder conviction of an Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip and ordered a new trial, citing errors made by prosecutors during his initial trial, according to multiple news reports.

The 5-3 decision was made Tuesday, Feb. 25, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing in her majority opinion, “We conclude that the prosecution violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony,” ABC News and NBC News reports. “We reverse the judgement below and remand the case for a new trial.”

Glossip, who has always maintained his innocence in the 1997 killing of his boss, Barry Van Treese, has been behind bars for decades and had nine scheduled execution dates, the Associated Press reported.

He was found guilty of ordering the fatal beating of Treese, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel where Glossip was a handyman, per the AP. Glossip’s alleged accomplice, Justin Sneed, told authorities he was hired by Glossip and offered $10,000 to kill Barry Van Treese.

After striking a plea deal, Sneed received a sentence of life in prison without parole, while Glossip was sentenced to the death.

In its decision, the Supreme Court said prosecutors failed to correct Sneed’s false testimony and did not disclose his psychiatric condition, the AP reports. The court added that prosecutors destroyed evidence and withheld witness statements.

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“Because Sneed’s testimony was the only direct evidence of Glossip’s guilt of capital murder, the jury’s assessment of Sneed’s credibility was necessarily determinative here,” Sotomayor said in her opinion, per NBC News.

A new trial date has not been set.

Glossip’s attorney Don Knight called the decision “a victory for justice and fairness in our judicial system” in a statement cited by ABC News.

“Rich Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for 27 years, will now be given the chance to have the fair trial that he has always been denied,” Knight said.