Cool C's life has been spared just in the nick of time. Judge L. Felipe Restrepo granted an emergency stay of execution last month, reports NBC Philadelphia.

The rapper, best know during the '80s and '90s, was scheduled to die Thursday (Jan. 8) via lethal injection. He was sentenced to death for the 1996 slaying of a police officer during a bank robbery.

According to his co-conspirators, Cool C shot and killed 43-year-old police officer Luretha Vaird, who would become the city’s first female cop to die on the job. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett signed his execution warrant in November.

The former recording artist, whose born name is Christopher Rooney, has asserted his innocence for close to two decades.

He was granted his first stay of execution in 2006. 

Click here to win a trip to the Super Bowl Gospel Celebration in Phoenix, plus four tickets to the Big Game. 

BET.com is your No. 1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music.

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

(Photo: Atlantic Records)