The American true crime podcast Undisclosed: Toward Justice has renewed attention on the case of Richard Eugene Glossip — a man who spent more than two decades on death row at Oklahoma State Penitentiary following a conviction that has drawn fierce criticism and debate within the American justice system ever since it was handed down.
A murder at an Oklahoma City motel
In the early hours of January 7, 1997, Barry Van Treese, owner of the Best Budget Inn motel chain in Oklahoma City, was found beaten to death at his own property. According to prosecutors, the man who carried out the killing was Justin Sneed — a 19-year-old maintenance worker employed at the motel. Sneed confessed to the murder but claimed he had acted on the orders of his supervisor, motel manager Richard Glossip.
Sneed subsequently struck a deal with prosecutors: in exchange for testifying against Glossip, he would avoid the death penalty USA and instead receive a life sentence. It was largely on the basis of this agreement and Sneed's testimony that Richard Glossip was sentenced to death — with no physical evidence directly linking him to the alleged role of mastermind.
A conviction built on one witness
The case against Glossip has for years drawn scrutiny from wrongful conviction advocacy organizations, defense attorneys, and journalists around the world. The criticism centers on one key issue: the conviction rested almost entirely on the account of a man who was himself the killer and who had a clear incentive to point the finger at someone else.
Justin Sneed was 19 years old at the time of the murder and worked as a handyman at the Best Budget Inn. Richard Glossip was the motel's day-to-day manager and Sneed's direct superior. According to the indictment, Glossip had allegedly promised Sneed money to have Barry Van Treese killed — but no independent witnesses or forensic evidence supported that claim.
