Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt Commutes Death Sentence for Tremane Wood Minutes Before Execution
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has granted clemency to death row inmate Tremane Wood, commuting his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole just moments before he was scheduled to receive a lethal injection. The decision follows a narrow 3-2 recommendation for clemency from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, marking only the second time Governor Stitt has spared a life during his nearly seven years in office. Wood, 46, was convicted for the 2002 stabbing death of 19-year-old migrant farmworker Ronnie Wipf during a botched robbery at an Oklahoma City motel, though his attorneys maintained that his brother, Zjaiton Wood, was the one who delivered the fatal blow.
Governor Stitt announced his executive order on Thursday morning, coinciding precisely with the time Tremane Wood’s execution by lethal injection was scheduled to begin at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. In his official statement, Stitt confirmed he accepted the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation after a thorough review and prayerful consideration of the facts, including concerns raised about possible prosecutorial misconduct and an ineffective trial attorney who was reportedly struggling with substance abuse issues at the time of the 2004 conviction. The governor noted that his action ensures Wood receives the same punishment as his brother, who was sentenced to life without parole for the murder before committing suicide in prison in 2019, thus ensuring a severe punishment that keeps a violent offender permanently off the streets.
The commutation arrives despite Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s expression of disappointment, arguing that Wood is a dangerous murderer and highlighting evidence presented during the clemency hearing that Wood had continued to engage in misconduct, including drug dealing and ordering attacks, while incarcerated. However, Wood’s current defense team, who are profoundly grateful for the governor’s decision, emphasized that the victim’s family and the surviving victim of the robbery had both supported sparing Wood’s life, citing their Christian values of forgiveness. The Governor’s executive order explicitly ensures that Tremane Wood will not be eligible to apply for or be considered for any form of pardon or parole for the remainder of his life.
