Oklahoma Gov. Stitt Commutes Wood's Death Sentence

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt granted clemency to death row inmate Tremane Wood on Thursday, commuting his death sentence to life imprisonment without parole just minutes before the scheduled lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

Wood, 46, had been set to die at 10 a.m. local time for his role in the 2002 stabbing death of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf during a botched robbery at a motel in Oklahoma City. The decision followed a 3-2 vote by the state's Pardon and Parole Board recommending clemency the previous week. Earlier that morning, around 9 a.m., the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution requested by Wood's attorneys, leaving the final call to Stitt.

The governor announced his choice at 10:01 a.m., stating, "After a thorough review of the facts and prayerful consideration, I have chosen to accept the Pardon and Parole Board's recommendation to commute Tremane Wood's sentence to life without parole." Stitt noted that the commutation aligned Wood's punishment with that of his brother, Zjaiton "Jake" Wood, who participated in the crime and received a life sentence without parole before dying by suicide in prison in 2019.