Richard Glossip pleads guilty to accessory charge as murder case ends

Richard Glossip, the former Oklahoma death row prisoner whose murder conviction the U.S. Supreme Court overturned, pleaded guilty Thursday to being an accessory after the fact in the 1997 killing of his former boss. The murder charge was dismissed, his attorney said, ending the prospect of another murder trial.

Glossip, who spent nearly 30 years in prison and came close to execution three times, will be sentenced in December. Prosecutors will seek a 45-year sentence, according to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office. Glossip’s attorney, Don Knight, said his client could be released or face up to 15 more years in prison.

The case centers on the killing of Barry Van Treese, a motel owner beaten with a baseball bat in Oklahoma City. Justin Sneed admitted robbing and killing Van Treese but testified that Glossip had promised him $10,000 to do it. Prosecutors alleged a murder-for-hire plot, while Glossip maintained that he had no role in the killing. Sneed, the state’s key witness, received a life sentence.

Knight said Glossip entered the plea to “put this matter to rest.” By pleading guilty, Glossip acknowledged prosecutors’ allegations that he helped place plexiglass over a broken window at the hotel, saw Van Treese’s body and did not tell police that Sneed had killed him, Knight said.

“He had nothing to do with the murder, none of the planning, or carrying it out,” Knight said. He argued that Glossip had served more time than he would have if convicted of the accessory charge initially. “We look forward to an opportunity to show why returning him to custody would not serve the interests of justice,” Knight said.

Drummond, who had planned to retry Glossip for first-degree murder without seeking the death penalty, said accepting the plea was difficult for him and the Van Treese family. “We both recognize that this path ensures a conviction related to Mr. Van Treese’s killing and gives us the best chance to secure additional prison time for Glossip,” he said.

A jury first convicted Glossip of murder in 1998, but an appeals court overturned that conviction in 2001 because of ineffective assistance of counsel. He was convicted again and sentenced to death in 2004. Oklahoma courts set nine execution dates for him, and he was served three last meals. CBS News reported that a problem with an execution drug halted one scheduled execution in 2015 and led to a nearly seven-year moratorium on executions in Oklahoma.

In February 2025, the Supreme Court overturned Glossip’s conviction and death sentence in a 5-3 ruling. The court found that prosecutors had failed to correct false testimony from Sneed at his second trial, violating Glossip’s right to due process. Drummond had supported granting Glossip a new trial, saying he had not received a fair one. Glossip was released on bond in May.