1:13 PM: An appeals court agreed to halt the execution of Richard Glossip with just hours to spare Wednesday after his attorneys asked for time to review new evidence, according to the Associated Press.
The evidence includes a statement from a fellow inmate, Michael Scott, alleging that he overheard Justin Sneed, the other man convicted in the case, admit he acted alone in the murder of Barry Van Treese.
10:03 AM: Richard Glossip is scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the murder of Barry Van Treese, even though there are still objections about the nature of the crime, as well as the controversial method Oklahoma will use to execute him.
Glossip, 52, was found guilty of the 1997 murder of motel owner Barry Van Treese, the problem, however, is that Glossip didn't actually commit the crime, according to FOX's Oklahoma affiliate KOKH-TV.
The man who actually murdered Treese was Justin Sneed, who was 19 at the time. According to Sneed's testimony he was hired by Glossip to commit the murder. Thanks to that testimony, Sneed is serving a life sentence, while Glossip is set for execution.
What his supporters, including Sister Helen Prejean, who minsters to prisoners on death row, find troubling about the case is that there is no physical evidence tying Glossip to the crime and the accounts used by prosecution were inconsistent, reported CNN.
Prejean notes Treese references a shower curtain and duct tape that they both allegedly used to cover a motel window that was broken during the murder, however, as it turns out, Glossip's fingerprints weren't present on either of the referenced items.
Additionally, she notes Treese gave several contradictory accounts of what had taken place during the police interrogation and trial testimony.
In light of these facts, Glossip's legal team believe Sneed was coerced into giving a false confession, reported Reuters. They also claim to have evidence supporting this accusation, in the form of a statement from an inmate who claims he overheard Sneed say Glossip was innocent and that he'd set Glossip up.
"We are headed to the governor's office right now to present our new information and to ask her to please grant a 60-day stay on Mr. Glossip's execution," Knight said.
If the execution goes through, it will be done using the controversial drug midazolam, which was the center of a caustic debate in June, before the Supreme Court deemed usage of the drug constitutional.
Last year, usage of the drug came into question after a lethal injection left one inmate moaning and writhing in pain for 43 minutes before dying of a heart attack.
In the end, a state investigation linked the issue with the IV lines not being linked correctly, and not the drug itself.
Glossip revealed that he is terrified he will suffer a similar death for a crime he claimed he didn't commit.
"I am worried they will botch it again," he said.
The defense team has until 3 p.m. to convince the governor to grant Glossip a stay of execution.
