Republican Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has commuted the death sentence of Tremane Wood to life in prison without parole, sparing the 46-year-old inmate just minutes before he was due to receive a lethal injection. The decision, announced on Thursday, follows an uncommon clemency recommendation from the state’s pardon and parole board last week.
Wood was convicted of felony murder in the 2002 stabbing death of Ronnie Wipf, a 19-year-old migrant farm worker from Montana, during a botched robbery. Wood’s attorneys have maintained that his brother, Zjaiton Wood, was the one who stabbed Wipf. Zjaiton Wood was sentenced to life without parole and died by suicide in prison in 2019 after admitting in court to the killing.
In a statement, Governor Stitt said: “This action reflects the same punishment his brother received for their murder of an innocent young man and ensures a severe punishment that keeps a violent offender off the streets forever.” This is only the second time Stitt has granted clemency during his nearly seven years in office.
Earlier on Thursday, the US Supreme Court denied a request from Wood’s attorneys to halt the execution. Wood’s son, Brendan Wood, who had been waiting at the prison to witness the execution, described the last-minute decision as “mental torture”. He said: “I think it is cruel and inhumane... at that point they are trying to find their peace and find a place where they aren’t going to go out in anguish.”
Community organiser Jasmine Brown-Jutras expressed relief, saying: “We saved him together, God saved him. Thank you to Governor Stitt for making the decision – the right decision – to give Tremane a chance at redemption and seeing his humanity.” Wood has been imprisoned at the Oklahoma state penitentiary in McAlester for more than 20 years.
