Richard Glossip, the former Oklahoma death row inmate who was assigned nine execution dates, is set to return to court on Tuesday, June 23, as prosecutors and the defense argue over what happens next in the case tied to the death of his former employer.
Glossip, now 63, was released on bond in May 2026 after spending nearly three decades in custody. He is living under strict conditions while he awaits further proceedings in the case.
Last year, the US Supreme Court threw out Glossip’s original conviction. A state judge then granted his release on bond on May 14, 2026.
Now 63, Glossip is due back before the court to decide whether prosecutors can move ahead with a new trial or whether there should first be another hearing to assess if the case has enough evidence to proceed.
Glossip was originally sentenced to death in 1997 after being found guilty in the killing of motel owner Barry Van Treese, who prosecutors said was beaten with a baseball bat in a murder-for-hire plot.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has said the state intends to try Glossip again on a murder charge, but it will not seek the death penalty if the case goes forward. Glossip has spent about 30 years on death row.
His case reached the U.S. Supreme Court after years of failed appeals and growing questions about the prosecution’s handling of key testimony. In February 2025, the court ruled that prosecutors violated Glossip’s right to a fair trial by allowing false testimony to go uncorrected, ordering that his conviction be set aside.
He has consistently denied involvement in the killing, and his case has attracted support from Kim Kardashian, who paid $50,000 toward the bond that helped secure his release last month.
Scott Budnick, a film producer and longtime supporter of Glossip, shared the update on Instagram and said 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”.
Under the terms of his release, Glossip must stay within Oklahoma, wear an electronic monitoring device and avoid any contact with witnesses connected to the case.
In February 2025, the Supreme Court found that prosecutors had violated Glossip’s constitutional right to a fair trial by allowing a crucial witness to give testimony they knew was false.
During the decades he spent on death row, courts in Oklahoma scheduled his execution nine separate times. On three of those occasions, he was served what would have been his last “final” meal, only for the execution to be called off.
The closest he came to execution was in 2015, when he waited in a holding cell beside the execution chamber and expected to be put to death by lethal injection.
A Cornell University study found that meals involving something “fried” are among the most commonly requested by death row inmates.
Those requests frequently feature fast food such as Kentucky Fried Chicken or Burger King, along with milkshakes or ice cream, often reflecting a preference for simple, familiar comfort food.
Because alcohol is not permitted for death row prisoners, soft drinks are also a regular part of many final meal requests.