Oklahoma spares death row inmate hours before planned execution

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has granted clemency to a death row prisoner, commuting his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The clemency notice came just before Tremane Wood, 46, was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday.

He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 2004 for his role in the fatal stabbing of farmworker Ronnie Wipf during a robbery. The victim’s family told a parole board they opposed Wood’s execution.

“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 said.

This is the second time Stitt has granted clemency to a prisoner on death row since becoming governor in 2019.

In court, Wood’s lawyers accepted he was part of the botched robbery but deny that he stabbed Wipf an Oklahoma City motel on New Year’s Eve 2002. His older brother Zjaiton Wood pleaded guilty to the murder and died in prison in 2019.

“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,” Stitt added in a statement.

Wood’s attorney Amanda Bass Castro-Alves welcomed the clemency decision.

“We are profoundly grateful for the moral courage and leadership Governor Stitt has shown in granting mercy to Tremane,” Ms Castro-Alves said in a statement reported by CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. “This decision honors the wishes of Mr. Wipf’s family and the surviving victim, and we hope it allows them a measure of peace.”

Earlier this month, the state’s parole board vote 3-2 to recommend clemency instead of the execution. Wipf’s family and his friend Arnold Kleinsasser, who survived the robbery, agreed with the recommendation. Governor Stitt praised their willingness to forgive.

“I pray for the family of Ronnie Wipf and for the surviving victim, Arnie; they are models of Christian forgiveness and love,” he said.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond expressed disappointment in Stitt’s clemency notice.

“My office will continue working to ensure that Tremane Wood remains behind bars and that the public is protected from him,” he said, according to local station KSWO.

Oklahoma has carried out two executions so far this year, according to a tracker by the Death Penalty Information Center. In 2024, the state executed four prisoners.