That may occur if new evidence is discovered to exonerate the convicted person or in attempts to have the sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
In the United States, all death sentences are automatically stayed pending a direct review by an appeals court.
US District Court Judge Nanette Laughrey granted a stay of execution on 19 November 2013 in response to a motion by the lawyers of Joseph Paul Franklin that the use of the drug phenobarbital in a lethal injection would constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
Through his lawyer, Kho managed to suspend his execution while pending a newly filed last-minute appeal against his sentence.
However, he was once again sentenced to death upon the prosecution's appeal to the higher courts of Singapore in early 2015, which was narrowly allowed by a majority vote of 3–2, as the majority of the judges found that the manner of killing demonstrated both viciousness and a blatant disregard for human life, which would make it more appropriate for Kho to be hanged rather than having him jailed for life.