An Oklahoma appeals court has called a last-minute halt to the execution of a man who says he was framed by a colleague in his boss' murder.
Richard Glossip, 52, was due to face lethal injection in the death chamber at 3pm local time on Wednesday.
But the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request from his legal team for time to explore new evidence.
Glossip was twice convicted of the 1997 murder of Barry Van Treese, who owned the Oklahoma City motel where Glossip worked.
Justin Sneed, a handyman at the motel who admitted killing Van Treese with a baseball bat, said Glossip had paid him to do it.
The execution has been postponed until 30 September.
There was no physical evidence linking Glossip to the crime, just the testimony of the teenager who escaped the death penalty in return for testifying against Glossip.
Sneed is serving a jail sentence, while Glossip faces death.
Glossip's lawyers say they have a statement from a prison inmate who knew Sneed and heard him boast about implicating Glossip.
They say they have a signed affidavit from the inmate, Michael Scott, that he heard Sneed say "he set Richard Glossip up, and that Richard Glossip didn't do anything."
His stay of execution comes a day after Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin rejected his appeal for a 60-day delay, citing the new evidence.
Glossip was not allowed to spend what he thought could be his final hours on Wednesday with his spiritual adviser, Sister Helen Prejean, who works with death row prisoners.
Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who starred as the nun in the movie adaption of her book Dead Man Walking, has said she believes Glossip is "clearly innocent."
But Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater has dismissed the new evidence as a "bull***t PR campaign."
He told Sky News: "We're working with the rule of law here. It wouldn't matter if I had a question about Mr Glossip's guilt, but I do not. And at some point this process has to stop."
Prosecutors say Glossip arranged the murder because he feared Van Treese was about to fire him for embezzling money and poorly managing the motel.
On Tuesday a rally was held in the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol next to a monument of the Ten Commandments.
Speakers called for the state to refrain from killing Glossip.
Among those addressing the gathering was Nathson Fields, a former death row prisoner who was exonerated after a key witness recanted, and the judge in his case was convicted of accepting bribes.
He told media: "We all make mistakes. The judicial system is comprised of people who are human beings and as human beings we all make mistakes."
