On Feb. 25, the Supreme Court threw out the murder conviction and death sentence of Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, who has been incarcerated for 27 years and ordered a new trial. In 1997, Glossip lived and worked as the manager at the Best Budget Inn in Oklahoma, a run-down motel owned by Barry Van Treese. On Jan. 7, Van Treese was discovered bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat in one of the rooms, and the maintenance guy, Justin Sneed, later confessed to the crime. He also implicated Glossip, whom he told investigators hired him to murder their boss. Sneed received a life sentence in exchange for serving as a key witness in Glossip’s trial. Glossip denied the accusations against him, saying that Sneed acted on his own accord and that what happened to Van Treese was a robbery gone wrong. Still, he was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1998. In 2001, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals tossed out Glossip’s conviction, calling the trial “extremely weak.” He was tried a second time in 2004 and was, again, found guilty and sentenced to death. The case against Glossip lacks forensic evidence tying him to the crime, with his conviction based largely on Sneed’s testimony. Glossip’s execution has already been stayed nine times due to the issues in his case as well as controversial lethal injection drug protocols and problems with obtaining drugs. He’s eaten his “last meal” three times. The latest Supreme Court ruling ended in a 5 to 3 decision in Glossip’s favor. Two of the three justices voted to uphold the conviction and sentence, while a third wanted to leave the decision to the state appeals court. Speaking on behalf of the five justices who voted to throw out the conviction, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said, “Glossip is entitled to a new trial.” The decision was made based on new evidence of prosecutorial misconduct, showing that prosecutors knew Sneed lied during his testimony when they knew about his psychiatric condition and that he was under medication to stabilize his moods. Other evidence – which could have potentially swayed the jurors’ decision– was destroyed. Due to these issues, it was decided that Glossip didn’t have a fair trial. After the Supreme Court ruling, Glossip’s legal counsel stated, “Today was a victory for justice and fairness in our judicial system. Rich Glossip, who has maintained his innocence for 27 years, will now be given the chance to have the fair trial he has always been denied.” After the ruling, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond talked to the press and stated that although he believes Glossip is guilty, he believes that he wasn’t given a fair chance in court. Moving forward, the evidence against Glossip will be reviewed once again and witnesses will again be interviewed to determine whether to proceed to seek the death penalty in the new trial. Glossip will remain at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary – a maximum-security prison – until a new trial date is set.