Susan Sarandon Gets Emotional Pleading for Stay of Execution

In 1998, Oklahoma resident Richard Glossip was sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of his boss, Barry Van Treese. He was convicted mostly because of the testimony of one man — Justin Sneed, who said Glossip hired him to kill Van Treese.

There is no evidence that Sneed was contracted by Glossip to kill Van Treese, and Glossip had no criminal record prior to this conviction. Sneed himself didn’t mention Glossip the first three times he was interrogated and was inconsistent in his recollection. Nonetheless, Glossip was found guilty by two different juries and is now scheduled to be executed on Sept. 16.

Enter Susan Sarandon. Sarandon, who is firmly anti-capital punishment, went on Dr. Phil to advocate for Glossip, whose time is in short supply. The actress explained why she’s in favor abolishing the death penalty. “Capital punishment never made sense to me. Way before Dead Man Walking. Killing people to stop people from killing people. It’s financially so expensive, it’s not a deterrent. States that kill the most people have the highest murder rates. Clearly it doesn’t work,” she said.

Her stance against capital punishment and the lack of evidence against Glossip has made this case a priority for the Oscar winner. Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin has thus far remained firm that Glossip will be put to death despite a petition signed by nearly 200,000 people asking for a stay of execution.

Sarandon, while reading a statement from Glossip, got choked up and said Glossip’s case affects us all. “I’m heartbroken for the state of our judicial system as much as I’m heartbroken for this man, that because of the color of your skin or how much money you have you can’t get a decent shake,” she said. “It shouldn’t be that way. This is America. We’re supposed to be better than that.”