Execution of 'framed' killer is called off at the last minute because officials were going to use the WRONG drug - after inmate had eaten his epic 5,000-calorie last meal

  • Richard Glossip, 52, was due to be executed in McAlester at 3pm  
  • But Gov Mary Fallin halted the procedure because of concerns over a drug
  • Potassium acetate - a de-icing solution - was to be used in the state's cocktail as opposed to potassium chloride, which stops the heart
  • He still had his last meal - consisting of dishes from three fast food chains 
  • Ordered food from Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers and Wendy's  
  • Pope Francis had also made a plea to Fallin to commute Glossip's sentence earlier this month 
  • In a letter to her office he said the commutation would 'give witness to the value of person's life' 
  • Glossip was found guilty of arranging the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese 

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has given Richard Glossip a stay of execution after raising concerns over one of the drugs set to be used in the procedure. He was set to given a lethal injection at 3pm on Wednesday 

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has given Richard Glossip a stay of execution after raising concerns over one of the drugs set to be used in the procedure. He was set to given a lethal injection at 3pm on Wednesday 

A convicted murderer who had a 5,000 calorie last meal has been spared execution after the Governor of Oklahoma issued a dramatic stay.

Richard Glossip was in a holding cell watching TV and waiting to be led into the death chamber when he received the news Gov. Mary Fallin had postponed the procedure, citing concerns over one of the drugs.

The 52 year old, who has always maintained his innocence while languishing on death row for almost 18 years, was set to face the lethal injection at the state's death chamber in McAlester at 3pm on Wednesday.

He was even given his last meal, consisting of four meals from three different fast food chains, on Tuesday evening. 

But Fallin stopped the procedure because potassium acetate, one of the three drugs that would have been administered, is not part the state's procedures.

It would have been the third drug used in the cocktail to put Fallin to death, and is normally used as a food additive or de-icing solution.

The state generally uses potassium chloride, which stops the heart. 

'It is unclear why, and extremely frustrating to the attorney general, that the Department of Corrections did not have the correct drugs to carry out the execution,' said Aaron Cooper, a spokesman for Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

Oklahoma's execution procedures have been under scrutiny since an incident in April 2014 when Clayton Lockett suffered a heart attack following a failed lethal injection.

He died 43 minutes after being administered an untested cocktail of drugs even though the execution was stopped.

Potassium chloride was one of the ingredients in that cocktail. 

An Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesman told Daily Mail Online Glossip ate his pre-ordered last meal in his cell less than 24 hours before his sentence was planned to be carried out.

It consisted of a medium double bacon and double cheese pizza from Pizza Hut, two fish n' chips from Long John Silvers and a Baconator from Wendy's. He washed it all down with a Wendy's Strawberry Malt.  

In a phone interview from death row Wednesday afternoon, Glossip said Department of Corrections officials gave him little information about the reason for the execution stay. 

He said he did not know that the delay was prompted because of a question over the use of the drug potassium acetate.

When told of the confusion over the drug, Glossip responded: 'That's just crazy.'

Glossip said he's now been returned to his normal cell on death row. He says he's 'happy to have 37 more days'.

Dale Baich, an attorney representing him, also released a statement saying: 'Today, with literally moments to spare, Oklahoma realized that it wasn't capable of competently executing Richard Glossip.'

It added: 'Today's hastily abandoned plans show what happens when states carry out executions in secrecy with unqualified execution team members and no public oversight. 

'Oklahoma has had months to prepare for this execution, and today's events only highlight how more transparency and public oversight in executions is sorely needed.'

The stay was issued just hours after it was revealed that the Pope had written a letter to her, asking that his death sentence be commuted.

Glossip's execution date is now set for November 6. 

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Glossip ordered a large last meal from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections - which included a medium double bacon and double cheese pizza from Pizza Hut

Glossip ordered a large last meal from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections - which included a medium double bacon and double cheese pizza from Pizza Hut

Two portions of fish n' chips from Long John Silvers were also given to him in his cell on Tuesday evening 

Two portions of fish n' chips from Long John Silvers were also given to him in his cell on Tuesday evening 

He then tucked into a 960 calorie Baconator from fast food chain Wendy's - which also has 62 grams of fat

He then tucked into a 960 calorie Baconator from fast food chain Wendy's - which also has 62 grams of fat

Glossip is pictured here in a mugshot
Glossip ordered a Wendy's strawberry milkshake as part of his last meal

Glossip then washed it all down with a strawberry milkshake. The whole meal was around 5,000 calories 

It has also cast doubts over whether Benjamin Cole, the next convict facing death in Oklahoma, will face the lethal injection on October 7.

'Potassium acetate is a food preservative, but today it was a Richard Glossip preservative because he is still alive,' said Sister Helen Prejean according to NBC News.

RICHARD GLOSSIP'S LAST MEAL: A BREAKDOWN  

Medium double bacon double cheese pizza - Pizza Hut - 2,240 calories, 104 grams of fat

Fish N Chips - Long John Silvers - 1,260 calories (630 calories times two), 72 grams of fat

Baconator- Wendy's - 960 calories, 62 grams of fat

Strawberry Malt - Unknown (similar from Wendy's is 539 calories).

Total - Roughly 4,999 calories 

A statement from Fallin's office read: 'The stay will give the Department of Corrections and its attorneys the opportunity to determine whether potassium acetate is compliant with the state's court-approved execution procedures.

'Last minute questions were raised today about Oklahoma's execution protocol and the chemicals used for lethal injection.

'After consulting with the attorney general and the Department of Corrections, I have issued a 37 day stay of execution while the state addresses those questions and ensures it is complying fully with the protocols approved by federal courts.'

Fallin added: 'My sincerest sympathies go out to the Van Treese family, who has waited so long to see justice done.'  

Earlier on Wednesday Oklahoma prison officials delayed it while waiting on the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a request to halt the punishment.

Today's hastily abandoned plans show what happens when states carry out executions in secrecy with unqualified execution team members and no public oversight 
Dale Baich, attorney for Richard Glossip  

But just two minutes before he was set to be strapped to the gurney, Justice Sotomayor denied the request.

Just an hour later however Fallin reversed the call again.  

The Pope asked the Governor of Oklahoma to commute the death sentence of a convicted murderer set to be executed on Wednesday. 

The representative for Pope Francis in the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, sent a letter to Gov. Mary Fallin on September 19, pleading to officials to not kill him. 

The letter says a commutation 'would give clearer witness to the value and dignity of every person's life'.

The decision to stay Glossip's execution comes just 24 hours after the Pope's bid to stop Kelly Renee Gissendaner being executed in Georgia proved to be unsuccessful.

She was pronounced dead by lethal injection at 12.21am on Wednesday after court delays left the 47 year old sitting in a holding room between her cell and the execution gurney for several hours. 

Family members of death row inmate Richard Glossip, from left, sister Kathy Wokaty, sister Nancy Ogden, niece Debra Ogden, niece Billie Jo Ogden Boyiddle and daughter Ericka Glossip-Hodge, stand together outside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary 

Family members of death row inmate Richard Glossip, from left, sister Kathy Wokaty, sister Nancy Ogden, niece Debra Ogden, niece Billie Jo Ogden Boyiddle and daughter Ericka Glossip-Hodge, stand together outside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary 

Alex Gerszewski, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, announces that Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has stayed the scheduled execution of Glossip for 37 days

Alex Gerszewski, spokesman for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, announces that Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has stayed the scheduled execution of Glossip for 37 days

Protestors and family members celebrate with balloons after news of the governor's decision reached them

Protestors and family members celebrate with balloons after news of the governor's decision reached them

Their emotions were a far contrast to earlier in the day when an appeal for a stay to the Supreme Court was denied just two minutes before he was set to be strapped to the gurney 

Their emotions were a far contrast to earlier in the day when an appeal for a stay to the Supreme Court was denied just two minutes before he was set to be strapped to the gurney 

The mother-of-three was the first person to be executed in Georgia in 70 years.  

Glossip was found guilty of arranging the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of an Oklahoma City motel he was managing. 

But he has always maintained that he was set-up by Justin Sneed, who is serving a life sentence. 

 Last minute questions were raised today about Oklahoma's execution protocol and the chemicals used for lethal injection
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin 

He was set to be executed on September 16, but just three hours beforehand, the court granted an emergency stay of execution for two weeks in order to give 'fair consideration' to the new evidence his lawyers have presented.

Earlier this week the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals ruled his execution would be carried out as planned on Wednesday after it denied Glossip's request for an evidentiary hearing.

The court stated that the evidence did not present a new argument for the death row inmate's innocence.

Judge David Lewis wrote in his opinion. 'This evidence merely builds upon evidence previously presented to this court.'  

Glossip's attorneys claimed they had new evidence including another inmate's claim that he overheard Sneed admit to framing Glossip.

The execution will be the first in Oklahoma since a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state's three-drug lethal injection formula in June.

Glossip, the lead plaintiff in the case, had argued that the sedative midazolam violated the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment because it didn't adequately render an inmate unconscious before the second and third drugs were administered.

Sister Helen Prejean (pictured with Kim Van Lanta), who runs the Ministry Against the Death Penalty out of Louisiana, is supporting Glossip. She was at the prison when she heard the news of his stay on Wednesday

Sister Helen Prejean (pictured with Kim Van Lanta), who runs the Ministry Against the Death Penalty out of Louisiana, is supporting Glossip. She was at the prison when she heard the news of his stay on Wednesday

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton gives a statement to reporters at the media center at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Wednesday 

Oklahoma Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton gives a statement to reporters at the media center at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary on Wednesday 

Glossip's sister Kathy Wokaty (left) stands beside Sister Helen Prejean (right), a death penalty opponent

Glossip's sister Kathy Wokaty (left) stands beside Sister Helen Prejean (right), a death penalty opponent

Susan Sarandon, who portrayed Sister Helen Prejean is the 1995 Oscar-winning move Dead Man Walking, said last month that Glossip is innocent

Susan Sarandon, who portrayed Sister Helen Prejean is the 1995 Oscar-winning move Dead Man Walking, said last month that Glossip is innocent

The high-profile case attracted international attention after Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who portrayed nun and death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean in the movie 'Dead Man Walking' and took up his cause. 

Sister Prejean, who runs the Ministry Against the Death Penalty out of Louisiana, has served as Glossip's spiritual adviser and frequently visited him in prison. 

'I don't think anybody should be put to death by the state but it just seems so glaring in this case,' she said, according to NBC.

The death penalty opponent, who has been serving as Glossip's spiritual adviser, visited him at Oklahoma State Penitentiary on the date of his original execution on September 16, and said that 'he feels that even if he is killed, he has shown how broken the whole system of death is'.

Before the visit, she had said her goal was to help him 'be poised that tomorrow at 3pm, he may die'.

She said the execution - the first she will be witnessing since 2004 - will be extremely difficult for her, but added: 'I am doing everything for him I can, to try to be with him in those final moments of terror.'

Ms Sarandon told Sky News that the scheduled execution in Oklahoma showed everything that is wrong with the death penalty in America.

Glossip was convicted on the testimony of Sneed, who confessed to beating Treese to death with a baseball bat, but said he had been hired to do it by Glossip.

Sneed was given a prison sentence whereas Glossip was sentenced to death and has spent the last 17 years on death row.

Glossip's defense attorneys Kathleen Lord, left, and Don Knight, secured a two-week stay of execution for their client just three hours before he was scheduled to die on September 16. He received another stay on Wednesday just minutes before he was set to be strapped to the gurney

Glossip's defense attorneys Kathleen Lord, left, and Don Knight, secured a two-week stay of execution for their client just three hours before he was scheduled to die on September 16. He received another stay on Wednesday just minutes before he was set to be strapped to the gurney

Ericka Glossip-Hodge (left) the daughter of death row inmate Richard Glossip, and Don Knight (right) one of his attorneys, wait next to a portrait of Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to deliver information to a representative of the governor concerning Glossips's case, in Oklahoma City on Monday, September 14, 2015

Ericka Glossip-Hodge (left) the daughter of death row inmate Richard Glossip, and Don Knight (right) one of his attorneys, wait next to a portrait of Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to deliver information to a representative of the governor concerning Glossips's case, in Oklahoma City on Monday, September 14, 2015

The high-profile case has gathered a lot of supporters for Glossip and demonstrators had gathered to protest the scheduled execution two weeks ago

The high-profile case has gathered a lot of supporters for Glossip and demonstrators had gathered to protest the scheduled execution two weeks ago

The actress, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of anti-capital punishment campaigner Sister Helen Prejean in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking, described Glossip's two trials as 'ridiculous' and said there was no physical evidence to implicate him.

She also described the governor of Oklahoma as a 'horrible person' for refusing to intervene.

'Once a mistake has been made within a judicial system, people just do not want to admit that mistake has been made and it becomes impossible to readdress them,' she said.

'And the only thing now that is going to give him a chance to survive is public opinion - is public embarrassment.' 

Glossip's original conviction was overturned due to the deficiencies in his defense. He was found guilty and sentenced to death after a retrial in 2004.

No physical evidence tied Glossip to the crime, adding that he his conviction hinged on the testimony of Sneed, then 19, a maintenance worker at the motel, who confessed to carrying out the killing.

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (pictured) denied a stay of execution earlier this month despite pleas to put off today's scheduled lethal injection from those who claim the state may be putting an innocent man to death. She has since reversed her decision

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (pictured) denied a stay of execution earlier this month despite pleas to put off today's scheduled lethal injection from those who claim the state may be putting an innocent man to death. She has since reversed her decision

Sneed, who is serving a life sentence, said Glossip had hired him to do it.

Glossip's attorneys noted Sneed, who cut a deal that allowed him to avoid the death penalty despite admitting that he had been the one who beat Van Treese to death with a bat.

They added Sneed has given contradictory accounts of the events.

Jail informants told them that Sneed had been heard bragging about 'setting Glossip up', they said.

But last week, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said that he has not seen any new evidence that suggests Glossip is not guilty, adding the whole thing is 'a b******** PR campaign'.

A stay for Glossip has won backing of an unusual group, including former U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, a conservative Republican; former Dallas Cowboys and University of Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer as well as the Innocence Project, a group that seeks to exonerate wrongly convicted prisoners. 

Glossip contacted Prejean in January, shortly before his former execution date - which was delayed while the U.S Supreme Court considered his challenge over the combination of drugs used in the lethal injection procedure in Oklahoma.

In 1997, Van Treese, owner of the Best Budget Inn, was bludgeoned to death by Sneed.

Glossip was convicted in 1998 and sentenced to death that year, with the decision upheld on appeal by four courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Oklahoma's five-member Pardon and Parole Board last year unanimously denied Glossip's request for clemency.

Now, after almost two decades, the victim's son Dabiel Van Treese, who is planning to attend the execution, said the people fighting to spare Glossip's life have 'more money than sense'. 

'They're using him to push their goals,' he said. 

He added that his family is finally ready to get on with their lives, adding: 'It's going to allow us to have a little bit of closure.' 

Earlier this year, lawyers for Glossip and two other death row inmates had challenged the use of midazolam, saying it could not achieve the level of unconsciousness required for surgery, making it unsuitable for executions. 

But in June, the high court sided with the state and ruled the use of midazolam did not violate the U.S. Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. 

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