With just days before a death row inmate's scheduled execution, activist and actress Susan Sarandon makes an impassioned plea to save Richard Glossip's life on Monday's episode of Dr. Phil.
Glossip, 52, has been on death row since being convicted in 1998 of first-degree murder of his boss, Barry Von Treese. Glossip, who maintains his innocence despite being convicted by two juries, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, September 16.
Sarandon, who has been vocal over the years about numerous political and social causes, has been publicly critical of Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin for allowing the execution to move forward. Fallin reportedly has received online threats against her life for her position on capital punishment.
In the video above, Sarandon tells Governor Fallin: "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."
Sarandon continues, "There is so much information that has come forward that was never presented at any of Richard’s trials. And you’re in that position to give a stay -- not clemency -- nobody’s asking you to release him. We’re just asking for the time to show this information so that you’re not responsible for doing a horrible thing. And you can be a hero by giving the stay ... you can go on record as giving him the opportunity once and for all to be represented in a way that will save his life."
The conviction that put Glossip on death row was largely based on the testimony of one man, Justin Sneed, who says he was hired by Glossip to bludgeon Von Treese to death. Sarandon claims there is a video that was never shown to the jury which she says shows that Sneed may have believed that if he implicated someone else, he could get a life sentence instead of the death penalty.
Asked how she will feel if Glossip is not granted the stay of execution and is put to death, Sarandon says, "I'll feel ashamed and sad for us all. Not just for him. I mean it's hard to even put an animal down, but to put a man down? It's just not the way we should be living our lives. It's just wrong."
This episode of Dr. Phil -- including Glossip's exclusive statement from death row that moves Sarandon to tears -- airs on Monday, August 31. Check local listings here.
An all-new season of Dr. Phil premieres September 14!
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