Oklahoma Gov. Grants Clemency For De@th Row Inmate Tremane Wood Minutes Before Execution

Oklahoma Gov. Grants Clemency For De@th Row Inmate Tremane Wood Minutes Before Execution

Oklahoma Governor #KevinStitt has granted clemency to #TremaneWood, commuting his de@th sentence to life without parole, right before his scheduled execution.

In a news release, Governor Stitt said: “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.” Wood was originally sentenced to death for the Jan. 1, 2002, murder of 19-year-old #RonnieWipf during what prosecutors say was a motel-room robbery setup.

Officials claim Wood and his brother, along with two women, lured Wipf and a friend into the room, where the younger man was stabbed in the chest by a masked assailant. Wood has maintained his innocence in the stabbing itself, saying: “I’m not a monster. I’m not a killer. I never was and I never have been.”

The decision comes after the #Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3–2 to recommend clemency, citing concerns that Wood’s trial was unfair and that his attorney did not properly represent him more than two decades ago. Meanwhile, the Gentner Drummond-led attorney general’s office opposed the commute, pointing to alleged misconduct by Wood while incarcerated.