Oklahoma man freed after 30 years on death row - Kim Kardashian paid his bail

A man who spent just under 30 years on death row and narrowly avoided execution multiple times has been freed after Kim Kardashian paid his bail.

Richard Glossip, now 63, was jailed in 1997 after being convicted of commissioning the murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of the motel he managed.

The former death row inmate walked free for the first time in 29 years on Thursday after 10 percent of his $500,000 bond was paid for by reality star turned criminal reform advocate Kim Kardashian, her publicist told The Oklahoman.

Publicist Christy Welder confirmed the source of the $50,000 payment, saying in a statement to the outlet: "Kim − alongside advocates Scott Budnick and Jason Flom − has been working on Richard's case actively since 2013.

Budnick, a film producer, added in Instagram: "Tonight he is home in his wife Lea's arms, for the first time ever."

Glossip was seen leaving the jail holding his wife's hand, after being fitted with an ankle monitor.

Speaking outside the Oklahoma County Detention Center, Glossip said: "It’s overwhelming, but it’s amazing at the same time.

"I'm just thankful for my wife and my attorneys. I'm just happy."

Prosecutors had asked the judge to deny Glossip bond, warning during a hearing in February that "whoever is behind the curtain" would secure Glossip's release even if she set bail at $10 million.

His release comes after Judge Natalie Mai set bond for Glossip on Thursday after two trials, two independent investigations, and countless appeal documents and hearings.

Judge Mai said in her order that a 2023 statement by Oklahoma’s attorney general that there was reasonable doubt in the case meant she “cannot deny bail to Glossip.”

Glossip, who has maintained he is innocent, was able to leave jail with an ankle monitor and mandatory curfew, though his legal case is set to continue.

Prosecutors have vowed to try him for a third time relating to Van Treese's murder, which was committed on January 7, 1997.

Van Treese was beaten to death at the Best Budget Inn in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which he owned. Glossip was the manager of the motel, while a man named Justin Sneed was responsible for maintenance.

Sneed, who was then 19 and addicted to methamphetamine, confessed to committing the crime in exchange for avoiding the death penalty, and told police that Glossip had instructed him to kill Van Treese after the motel owner became suspicious of Glossip over missing money, court records state.

Sneed testified that Glossip had promised to pay him $10,000 to murder Van Treese, and Glossip acknowledged Sneed had told him that he'd killed Van Treese after it was done, but did not report it to police.

Sneed, now 48, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, which was also an option given to Glossip, but he refused to plead guilty to a crime he maintains he did not commit.

Glossip has always maintained that he is innocent and refused to accept a plea bargain, leading to a jury in 1998 convicting him of the murder and sentencing him to death. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously threw out that conviction in 2001, calling the case "extremely weak" and finding Glossip had received unconstitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel.

A second jury convicted Glossip of murder in August 2004, again sentencing him to death.

Glossip had complained that prosecutors in the second case had intimidated his defense attorney into resigning, but in April 2007, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the death sentence.

In the 29 years that Glossip has spent on death row, he has come close to execution nine times, even being served a "last meal" before his execution date was abruptly delayed.

Glossip told CNN in 2023: "It’s still scary, it will always be scary until they finally open this door and let me go."

Featured image credit: KFOR Oklahoma's News 4/YouTube