One of Hollywood's best known actresses has appealed for public help in stopping the execution of a man she says is "clearly innocent". 
 
 In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Susan Sarandon said next month's scheduled execution in Oklahoma shows everything that is wrong with the death penalty in America. 
 
 She also described the governor of Oklahoma as a "horrible person" for refusing to intervene. 
 
 Sarandon won an Oscar for her portrayal of anti-capital punishment campaigner Sister Helen Prejean in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. 
 
 Richard Glossip, 52, is scheduled to be put to death on 16 September 
 
 Richard Glossip is scheduled to die by lethal injection on 16 September, but has always maintained he is innocent. 
 
 He was convicted of murder after the man who confessed to the killing claimed that Glossip had hired him to do it. 
 
 Play video "British Sitcom Helps Death Row Man" Video: British Sitcom Helps Death Row Man 
 
 In return for his testimony, Justin Sneed was given a prison sentence, whereas Glossip was sentenced to death. 
 
 He has been on death row for 17 years but has exhausted all appeals, including to the US Supreme Court. 
 
 Sarandon told Sky News: "Richard's case is so typical. 
 
 "Bad representation; two trials that were ridiculous, no physical evidence. 
 
 "He's put there by a snitch who actually did kill the person, and then the snitch has life and this guy is being put to death on the 16th. 
 
 "Once a mistake has been made within a judicial system, people just do not want to admit that mistake has been made and it becomes impossible to readdress them. 
 
 "And the only thing now that is going to give him a chance to survive is public opinion - is public embarrassment." 
 
 The actress is urging people to write to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin - asking her to intervene and grant a stay of execution. 
 
 So far she has refused to do so and rejected Sky News' requests for an interview about the case. 
 
 "The governor of Oklahoma is just a horrible person, and a woman, so it's even more discouraging," Sarandon said. 
 
 "Being tough on crime means being for the death penalty, somehow that got established, so when you're attempting to protect your political career, you can't ever look at the complexities if you want to keep your mantra going. 
 
 Play video "2014: Ending The Death Penalty" Video: 2014: Ending The Death Penalty 
 
 "It's never because of some consciousness-raising that these things change, it's because of some kind of embarrassment. 
 
 "And so this is where public opinion can make a difference. 
 
 "This is where having letters sent to the governor can make a difference, because then they understand. 
 
 "He's (Glossip) a perfect example of what's wrong with the death penalty, and so of course, I'm hoping that some kind of exposure will give him the opportunity to maybe get his sentence at least commuted, because he's clearly innocent, and on top of that the guy who actually killed the person is in a minimum security prison for the rest of his life." 
 
 The movie Dead Man Walking was based on a book by Sister Helen Prejean who works with death row prisoners. 
 
 She has visited Glossip in prison and has agreed to be his spiritual advisor in the hours before his execution. 
 
 The Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has also declined to be interviewed, but his office issued a statement. 
 
 "A jury has twice convicted and sentenced Richard Glossip in the murder of Barry Van Treese. 
 
 "Glossip has challenged his conviction all the way to the US Supreme Court, exhausting all appeals, and has been unsuccessful at each challenge. 
 
 "The attorney general's office will continue its work to protect the state’s ability to ensure the sentence handed down by a jury can be carried out so that after nearly 20 years, justice can be served for the family of Barry Van Treese." ||||| Ahead of the scheduled execution of Oklahoma inmate Richard Glossip, his supporters are pleading with Gov. Mary Fallin (R) to stop what they say is the death of an innocent man. 
 
 Now, actress Susan Sarandon has joined the fight to save Glossip's life before he is supposed to be put to death on Sept. 16 -- and is criticizing Fallin for not intervening. 
 
 "The governor of Oklahoma is just a horrible person -- and a woman, so it's even more discouraging," Sarandon said in an interview with U.K.'s Sky News that was released Thursday. 
 
 "He's clearly innocent," Sarandon said of Glossip. "Once a mistake is made in a judicial system, people just do not want to admit that a mistake has been made, so it becomes impossible case, after case, after case to readdress them." 
 
 Glossip has sat on death row for 17 years after being convicted in a murder plot against his boss, motel owner Barry Van Treese. Though Glossip did not kill Van Treese -- a fact that has never been disputed by prosecutors -- he was given a death sentence. Justin Sneed, the motel handyman who actually committed the murder, claimed it was Glossip's idea. For his testimony against Glossip, he received a plea deal of life without parole. 
 
 "Richard's case is so typical," Sarandon told Sky News. "Bad representation, two trials that were ridiculous, no physical evidence. He's put there by a snitch who actually did kill the person, and then the snitch has life and this guy is being put to death on the 16th." 
 
 Fallin, meanwhile, remains unswayed. 
 
 "Is the governor going to undo decades of legal actions -- that dozens of jurors and judges have decided -- because Susan Sarandon is calling on the governor?” Alex Weinz, Fallin’s communications director, told The Huffington Post on Thursday. "The answers is first, [Fallin] doesn’t have the authority, and second, she wouldn’t even if she could." 
 
 Weinz said the governor has the authority to grant a 60-day stay of execution but not to grant clemency or stop the execution of a prisoner. 
 
 Fallin, who picks three of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board's five members, cannot do much more than express a desire for the parole board to grant an inmate another clemency hearing, according to Weinz. The governor does not have the power to order the board to grant the hearing. Further, Weinz said, the governor can only grant clemency to an inmate if recommended by the pardon and parole board; she also has the authority to ignore a recommendation for clemency. 
 
 "Richard Glossip has had his day in court,” Weinz said. 
 
 Sarandon comes to the Glossip case through Sister Helen Prejean, who penned Dead Man Walking, ﻿a memoir about accompanying inmates to their executions. Sarandon won a 1996 Academy Award for portraying Prejean in the book's film adaptation. 
 
 Prejean has been Glossip's spiritual adviser and plans to accompany him to his execution if the fight to save him is unsuccessful. Both Prejean and Sarandon are set to appear Friday on CNN to discuss Glossip's case. 
 
 "It's never because of some kind of consciousness-raising that these things change. It's always because of some kind of embarrassment," Sarandon told Sky News. "So this is where public opinion can make a difference. This is where having letters sent to the governor can make a difference." 
 
 This story has been updated with new comments from Fallin's office that clarify the governor's role in granting clemency. 
 
 Also on HuffPost:
– Susan Sarandon is using her Hollywood clout to try to save an inmate on Oklahoma's death row. In an interview with Sky News, the actress called Gov. Mary Fallin a "horrible person" for not intervening in next month's scheduled execution of Richard Glossip. He is "clearly innocent," says Sarandon, who has an Oscar for portraying anti-capital-punishment activist Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. Prejean herself has been meeting with Glossip as a spiritual adviser, reports the Huffington Post. Glossip is on death row over the murder of his boss. The man who confessed to the killing says Glossip hired him to do it, and the actual killer is now serving a life sentence. "Richard's case is so typical," says Sarandon. "Bad representation, two trials that were ridiculous, no physical evidence. He's put there by a snitch who actually did kill the person, and then the snitch has life and this guy is being put to death on the 16th."