In a last-minute decision, a death row inmate’s execution was halted.
Tremane Wood was on the verge of execution on November 13, but was granted clemency just before the lethal injection was to be administered.
Wood faced execution for his involvement in the death of Ronnie Wipf, a 19-year-old from Montana, during a robbery attempt at a hotel in north Oklahoma City on New Year’s Day in 2002.
Convicted of first-degree murder, Wood received a death sentence in 2004.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, in a rare move, formally granted clemency to 46-year-old Wood. This marks only the second time that Governor Stitt has granted clemency in nearly seven years of his tenure, having overseen 16 executions during this period.
“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,” Governor Stitt announced.
“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,” he added.
Governor Stitt had previously granted clemency to Julius Jones in 2021, but had declined clemency requests in four other instances.
The Pardon and Parole Board of Oklahoma recommended clemency for Wood by a 3-2 vote last week.
During the clemency hearing, Wood’s defense team admitted his participation in the robbery but argued that it was his brother, Zjaiton Wood, who fatally stabbed Wipf. Zjaiton received a life sentence without parole.
Before passing away in prison in 2019, Zjaiton reportedly confessed to several individuals that he was the one who killed Wipf, according to Tremane’s lawyer, Amanda Bass Castro-Alves.
Castro-Alves presented evidence that Wood had an ineffective trial attorney who was struggling with alcoholism at the time and failed to adequately represent him.
She also accused trial prosecutors of withholding information about the incentives given to witnesses for their testimonies. Wood’s legal team petitioned the US Supreme Court to prevent the execution based on these claims, but the request was denied.
Following the clemency decision, Castro-Alves expressed her relief that her client’s life was spared.
“We are profoundly grateful for the moral courage and leadership Governor Stitt has shown in granting mercy to Tremane,” she stated, as reported by BBC News.
“This decision honors the wishes of Mr. Wipf’s family and the surviving victim, and we hope it allows them a measure of peace,” Castro-Alves added.
Wood will now serve a life sentence in prison without any chance for parole.