An Oklahoma court granted a last-minute reprieve to death row inmate Richard Glossip, who has long proclaimed his innocence, by granting a brief stay of execution Wednesday.

The reprieve was announced about three hours before Glossip, 52, was set to die by lethal injection.

"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 order issued by the Oklahoma criminal appeals court said.