SARANDON 1, JUSTICE 0

Three hours before his scheduled execution, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals grants Richard Glossip a stay of two weeks

Academy award winning actress Susan Sarandon, an ardent anti-death penalty crusader, has been campaigning to save the life of Oklahoma death row resident Richard Glossip, 52, who has been roosting there for 18 years after having been sentenced to death for the murder of a motel manager.

Despite the efforts of Sarandon, Sister Helen Prejean and other anti-death penalty crusaders to stop the September 16 execution of Glossip, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Sky News issued the following statement on August 10, 2015:

"Richard Glossip has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death by two juries. His conviction and death sentence have been reviewed and upheld by four courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States ... His actions directly led to the brutal murder of a husband and a father of seven children. The state of Oklahoma is prepared to hold him accountable for his crimes and move forward with his scheduled execution."

In an August 11 interview with Sky News, a pissed off Sarandon responded to Gov. Fallin’s statement by saying, "The governor of Oklahoma is just a horrible person -- and a woman, so it's even more discouraging."

On August 31, Dr Phil aired an episode in which Sarandon and Sister Helen appeared on his TV show to plead the case for a delay in Glossip’s execution. They claimed he was an innocent man. Sarandon said, "There [is] so much information that has come forward that was never presented at any of the trials.”

On the show, Sarandon did apologize to Gov. Fallin for what she told Sky News. She said, "I would like to personally apologize to the Governor for calling you a horrible person. I don’t know you, so I’m wrong to call you a horrible person. I do, though, feel passionately that you’re about to do a horrible thing to not do whatever you can to make sure if you’re about to execute a person that they deserve to be executed."

Before the end of his show, Dr. Phil said, "His life hangs in the balance. He is on death row. He is scheduled to be executed in just a matter of days and we're dedicated to stopping that from happening."

Earlier this year, lawyers for Glossip and two other death row roosters filed an appeal against the use of midazolam in executions, arguing that the drug did not achieve the level of unconsciousness required for surgery, but in June the U.S. Supreme Court rejected their arguments.

Yesterday, about three hours before his scheduled execution, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted a two-week stay of execution for Richard Glossip. Less than 24 hours earlier, his attorneys had filed several last minute motions including one for an evidentiary hearing to prove his innocence. The court wrote: "Due to Glossip's last minute filing, and in order for this court to give fair consideration to the materials included with his subsequent application for post-conviction relief, we hereby grant an emergency stay of execution for two weeks." That sets the execution date for September 30.

Following the court’s stay of execution, Gov. Fallin released the following statement: "The court is the proper place for Richard Glossip and his legal team to argue the merits of his case. My office will respect whatever decision the court makes, as we have throughout this process."

Score hits for Sarandon, Sister Helen and Dr. Phil. Will justice make a comeback in the final innings?