Dramatic Reprieve Followed by Medical Emergency
A death row inmate in Oklahoma, whose life was spared from lethal injection mere hours earlier, was rushed for medical treatment after being discovered unresponsive in his prison cell. Tremane Wood, 46, learned on Thursday morning that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt had commuted his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The eleventh-hour decision came as Wood was waiting in a holding cell adjacent to the execution chamber. However, the reprieve was swiftly followed by panic when correctional officers found the inmate had collapsed during a routine check.
A Sudden Collapse and a Message of Thanks
According to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Kay Thompson, Wood had met with his legal team following the commutation and appeared to be in a stable condition. The subsequent medical emergency was later attributed to dehydration and extreme stress.
In a recorded interview from the hospital, Wood described the moment he lost consciousness. "I didn't have all my senses," he stated. "I woke up in the infirmary with my head busted and my lip busted." He insisted that he had not harmed himself and revealed he had not eaten since the previous day.
The recording concluded with a message from Wood to the governor who spared him: "Tell Governor Stitt I said 'thank you.'" Prison officials confirmed that by Thursday evening, Wood was "stable and alert".
A Case of Clemency and Controversy
Wood was convicted for the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf during a botched robbery back in 2002. He has consistently maintained that his brother, who later died while serving a life sentence for the crime, was the actual killer.
Governor Stitt's decision to grant clemency was notably influenced by the victim's family, who were raised in a Hutterite community in Montana and publicly backed the move for mercy. The governor's order ensures Wood will never be eligible for commutation, parole, or a pardon.
This marks only the second time in nearly seven years that the Republican governor has granted clemency. The state's Pardon and Parole Board had previously recommended mercy in a narrow 3-2 vote, a decision supported by several Republican lawmakers.
However, the clemency was not without its critics. State Attorney General Gentner Drummond expressed his disappointment, and one of the original prosecutors, George Burnett, questioned the evidence and the board's influence. Wood's legal team had argued that his original trial attorney was ineffective due to heavy drinking and that prosecutors had improperly concealed benefits given to witnesses.
Wood's medical scare occurred on the same day that mass killer Stephen Bryant, 44, was executed by firing squad in South Carolina for murdering three people during a rampage in 2004.
