Story highlights An anti-death penalty advocate applauds decision, urges governor to follow up

Court delays execution by two weeks, hours before it was scheduled to happen

Glossip was convicted of a murder-for-hire plot in the death of his boss

(CNN) An Oklahoma appellate court granted a two-week stay of execution for Richard Glossip just hours before he was scheduled to die Wednesday, meaning that a man whose lawyers say is innocent has at least a temporary reprieve.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals issued the order about three hours before Glossip's scheduled afternoon execution for the 1997 death of motel owner Barry Van Treese.

The move came amid concerns, expressed by Glossip's supporters and attorneys, about his trial and the way the state planned to execute him. The appellate court said it needed time to consider several motions that Glossip's attorneys made less than 24 hours before the scheduled execution, including one asking for an evidentiary hearing.

"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," the court wrote.

The order resets the execution date to September 30.

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