Judge Sets $500,000 Bond for Richard Glossip Ahead of Retrial in 1997 Murder Case

Former death row inmate Richard Glossip will be released on $500,000 bond while awaiting retrial in a 1997 killing that led to three near-executions and three last meal requests.

Judge Natalie Mai ruled Thursday that she could not deny bail after reviewing the ample record in Glossip's case. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 1998. Mai set the bond at $500,000 and required Glossip to remain in Oklahoma wearing an electronic monitoring device.

The decision follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in February that overturned Glossip's conviction and death sentence. The high court found that prosecutors failed to correct false testimony from key witness Justin Sneed, the admitted killer who avoided execution by testifying against Glossip.

The Supreme Court ordered a new trial because jurors never heard critical information about Sneed's mental health history and credibility.

In her order, Mai pointed to the unusually extensive record from nearly three decades of litigation. She said the state could not meet the high constitutional standard needed to deny bail in a capital case.

Glossip's attorney, Don Knight, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that his client ate three last meals and now has the chance to taste freedom. "We are extremely grateful that Judge Natalie Mai has granted Richard Glossip a bond," Knight said. "In doing so, she rejected the State’s claim that there is a strong case for guilt. For the first time in 29 years of being incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, during which he faced nine execution dates and ate three last meals."

Knight added, "Mr. Glossip now has the chance to taste freedom while his defense team continues to pursue justice on his behalf against a system that the United States Supreme Court has found to be guilty of serious misconduct by state prosecutors. Mr. Glossip is deeply grateful to the many thousands of people who have expressed support for him over the years and now looks forward to the day when he is exonerated and truly free from this decades-long nightmare."

Glossip was convicted in the 1997 killing of his former boss, Barry Van Treese. Sneed, a maintenance worker, beat the motel owner to death. Prosecutors said Glossip ordered the murder-for-hire plot. Glossip has been incarcerated since January 1997.