24 DAILY NEWS – For three decades, Richard Glossip endured life on concrete. Initially confined at the Oklahoma County Jail following his arrest for murder in 1997, he later spent years in the underground bunker of death row at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. Over time, Glossip adapted to his harsh surroundings, but recently, he developed painful swelling in his legs.
His awakening to a different world came last June when he stepped onto the carpeted courtroom floor at the Oklahoma County Courthouse. Glossip, now 63, nearly lost his balance and had to be steadied by a lawyer. “You’re not balanced for that,” he remarked, reflecting on how his body had become unaccustomed to anything beyond hard surfaces. Now seated on a mint green loveseat beside his wife, Lea, he was enjoying softer surroundings, including new sherpa-lined slippers. “My leg hasn’t been swollen since I got out,” he noted.
Just five days prior to this moment, Glossip was still incarcerated
