Oklahoma
Oklahoma's Own In Focus: Supreme Court overturns Richard Glossip's conviction; DA to decide next steps
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Richard Glossip’s most recent conviction Friday, leaving the Oklahoma County district attorney to decide whether to try him a third time for the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese.
Decades-long case history
Glossip, who has been on death row since 1997, was convicted twice of paying Justin Sneed to kill Van Treese, the owner of the motel where Glossip worked. Sneed, who was given a lesser sentence in exchange for his testimony, was the key witness in both trials.
An appeals court overturned Glossip’s first conviction in 2001 due to ineffective counsel. He was convicted again in 2004 and sentenced to death. Over the years, his execution was delayed multiple times, including stays from former Gov. Mary Fallin in 2014 and 2015 due to lethal injection drug concerns, and from Gov. Kevin Stitt in 2022 while new evidence was reviewed.
In 2023, Attorney General Gentner Drummond ordered an independent review of the case, citing evidence that Oklahoma County prosecutors had failed to disclose. A state appeals court upheld Glossip’s conviction later that year, and his clemency request was denied. The U.S. Supreme Court then put his May 2023 execution on hold, heard oral arguments in October, and ruled 5-3 Tuesday to overturn his conviction.
Legal expert and family reactions
Longtime criminal defense attorney Irven Box, who has followed the case for years, said a retrial may be difficult because the main witness, Justin Sneed, has died.
“I think zero odds they’ll retry this case,” Box said. “They could use the transcript from the prior trial, but the main witness is deceased.”
Barry Van Treese’s son, Derek Van Treese, issued a statement saying, in part: “For the last 10,276 days, we’ve been waiting for justice. The family remains confident that when that new trial is held, the jury will return the same verdict as in the first two trials—guilty of first-degree murder.”
Box suggested prosecutors might opt for a lesser charge to resolve the case quickly.
“My opinion is in the next days, weeks, or months, they’ll bring him back to court, reduce the charge—maybe to a lesser charge like murder or manslaughter—give him time credit for the years he’s been in prison, and then I think he’ll be released,” Box said.
The Van Treese family has stated they want the case pursued as a death penalty case and do not want the DA to seek a lesser charge.
Next steps for Glossip
Glossip’s wife, Leah Rogers, said they were overcome with emotion when they received the Supreme Court’s decision over the phone Friday morning. The couple married inside the state penitentiary in 2022.
The Death Penalty Information Center said Glossip could become the 201st U.S. prisoner exonerated from death row if he is not convicted again. Eleven former Oklahoma death row inmates have been acquitted or had their charges dismissed, including Glenn Simmons, who was freed in 2023 after prosecutors found key evidence was withheld in his case.
Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna will now decide whether to refile charges. In a statement, Behenna said she has discussed the ruling with Drummond and will review the opinion before determining the next steps.
🔹 Richard Glossip Legal Analyst Steps After Overturn – Read More Here
🔹 Reactions Pour In After Richard Glossip’s Death Row Sentence Thrown Out – Full Story Here
🔹 Q&A with Former State Rep. Kevin McDugle on Richard Glossip’s New Trial Decision – See the Interview
🔹 Richard Glossip: Full Timeline of His Case – View Timeline Here
🔹 Richard Glossip: Ex-Oklahoma Lawmaker Says Supreme Court Ruling Should Spark Death Penalty Reform – Read More Here
What you need to know about Oklahoma ahead of the College World Series
North Carolina will face a dangerous Oklahoma team that is on a roll.
Oklahoma (41-22) has been just as dominant. The Sooners, making their 13th College World Series appearance and first since 2022, surged through the postseason as road warriors. They won the Atlanta Regional by upsetting No. 2 seed and ACC champion Georgia Tech in the final, then swept Big 12 champion and No. 15 seed Kansas by a combined score of 21-3 in the Lawrence Regional.
The Sooners, who are 3-0 in Omaha after beating No. 7 seed Alabama and knocking off No. 3 seed and SEC champion Georgia twice, are seeking their third national championship. Oklahoma won titles in 1951 and 1994 and finished as runner-up to Ole Miss in 2022.
Here are a few things to know about Oklahoma:
Best player: Catcher Deiten LaChance
LaChance is Oklahoma’s most powerful hitter. He is batting .333 with 12 doubles, two triples and team highs of 16 home runs and 65 RBIs.
Throughout the postseason, he is hitting .326 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. In Omaha, he is 5-for-14 (.357) with one home run and five RBIs.
Strengths
Like North Carolina, Oklahoma is a balanced team that is good at a little bit of everything and is built to frustrate opponents.
Oklahoma is a balanced hitting team like UNC, but the Sooners have hit a few more homers with 91, compared to the Tar Heels’ 82. That is largely due to the Sooners smashing 26 home runs in their 10 postseason games. In Omaha, OU has homered eight times, including five homers in its win over Georgia in its previous game.
The Sooners have stolen 129 bases this season. That is good for 24th nationally and second in the SEC.
Pitching-wise, OU is 18th nationally in strikeouts per nine innings and leads the SEC in shutouts.
Weaknesses
The most glaring weakness is the pitching staff, despite its ability to strike out opposing batters and record shutouts.
The Sooners have a 4.98 ERA as a staff. Only one pitcher with 10 or more appearances has an ERA under 3.60.
They also allow 4.51 walks per nine innings, which ranks 138th nationally.
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It was a Friday Night Lights in June kind of moment for the Oklahoma State Cowboys as Israel “Izzy” Hammons made his commitment announcement.
The Choctaw, Okla., rising senior announced his decision to commit to Oklahoma State on Friday during an Instagram Live session. The Cowboys beat out a roster of schools vying for the linebacker, most notably Texas.
Hammons made just two official visits — one to OSU and one to Texas last week.
His commitment pushed the Cowboys’ 2027 recruiting class back to nine players after the defection of Mount Carmel (Chicago, IL) offensive lineman Chase Clark to Purdue.
Commitments are non-binding. The earliest that Hammons can sign with OSU is in December.
Izzy Hammons to OSU
Hammons is the first four-star player to commit to the Cowboys this cycle. Their previous commitments all came from three-star players. The 6-3, 225-pound linebacker was considered a Top 200 player in the country by both On3/Rivals and 247Sports. Both services had him ranked as a Top 10 player in the state of Oklahoma at any position. He’s also considered the No. 1 linebacker in the state.
He also runs track and field, competing in the high jump and the 100-meter days, with a personal best of 11.30 seconds in the latter.
The Longhorns came in hot at the end but already had linebackers committed to the program this cycle. For the Cowboys getting a pledge from a player like Hammons is key to shore up a position where they didn’t have a commitment and where they plan to use senior transfers as starters in 2026. That means OSU and head coach Eric Morris must start building a pipeline now.
OSU’s Class of 2027
After Clark’s decommitment the Cowboys were down to eight recruits for 2027 entering Friday, most of which were on the offensive side of the ball and starting with Iowa Colony (Texas) quarterback Carson White, who was the cycle’s first commitment in April.
Up front, OSU has two offensive line commitments Jake Baker of Ensworth High School in Nashville, Tenn., and Sonny Mullen of Troy, Texas. When it comes to skill positions players the Cowboys have three commitments as well, including two wide receivers — Cooper Hooker of Pryor (Quapaw, Okla.) High School and Ake O’Neal of Argyle, Texas. Oklahoma State also has a pledge from tight end Talan Scott of Queen City, Ariz.
Defensively, the Cowboys have commitments from safeties Chayce Davis of Euless (Texas) Trinity High School and Bryson Brown of Broken Bow, Okla.
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OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — As an Oklahoma utility company seeks a multimillion-dollar rate increase, two Oklahoma state representatives are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to give customers a voice.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is currently deciding on a $29 million rate increase for Oklahoma Natural Gas.
If approved, officials say it would mark the fourth rate hike the OCC has approved for ONG in the last four years and has led to an $128 million increase in customer bills.
Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola, and Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, have filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court, saying customers weren’t given a chance to participate in the case.
“The OCC has gone completely off the beam,” ONG customers Gann and Kevin West told the Supreme Court in their June 17 petition.
In the filing, they claim that the OCC set a March 27 deadline to intervene in ONG’s rate case but only set it after the deadline had already passed.
They say ONG’s customers weren’t notified about the case until late April.
“This case was rigged from the start to keep ONG ratepayers out,” said Gann. “The federal courts have said utility customers have constitutional due process rights – including a right to timely and adequate notice about these cases. We are asking the Supreme Court to uphold customers’ rights and require the OCC to change its rules to respect them. ONG ratepayers should be allowed to exercise their right to participate without being muzzled.”
The commissioners are expected to make a final decision on the $29 million rate increase later this year.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
ONG, the OCC, and the attorney general have 30 days to respond to Gann and Kevin West’s latest ONG appeal.
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