June 10 (UPI) — Oklahoma will seek a new murder trial for longtime death row inmate Richard Glossip but next round without the death penalty.
During a status hearing at the Oklahoma County Courthouse that the state’s top prosecutor said it would pursue a new murder trial for Glossip after the nation’s high court ordered it earlier this year in vacating Glossip’s capital conviction.
“While it was clear to me and to the U.S. Supreme Court that Mr. Glossip did not receive a fair trial, I have never proclaimed his innocence,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a release.
Glossip, 62, was twice convicted for the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, who was Glossip’s boss at an Oklahoma City motel.
Drummond, a Republican, vowed that Glossip will receive a fair trial but indicated he does not plan to dismiss the existing first-degree murder charges and will seek a sentence of life in prison.
“After the high court remanded the matter back to district court, my office thoroughly reviewed the merits of the case against Richard Glossip and concluded that sufficient evidence exists to secure a murder conviction,” said Drummond, who was supportive of the Supreme Court ruling granting Glossip a new trial.
Glossip had no less than nine separate postponed execution dates. In 2001, his original 1998 conviction was overturned and a second jury found him guilty again in 2004.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-3 ruling said Glossip was to get a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.
“Unlike past prosecutors who allowed a key witness to lie on the stand, my office will make sure Mr. Glossip receives a fair trial based on hard facts, solid evidence and truthful testimony,” the state’s attorney general said.
Meanwhile, Glossip’s next court date is June 17 in front of Oklahoma County District Judge Heather Coyle.
“While I cannot go back 25 years and handle the case in the proper way that would have ensured true justice, I still have a duty to seek the justice that is available today,” Drummond stated Monday.
