Oklahoma governor grants clemency for death row inmate after state panel recommendation
Governor Kevin Stitt commuted Tremane Wood's sentence to life without parole following a 3-2 parole board recommendation citing prosecutorial errors and ineffective counsel.
- On Thursday, November 13, 2025, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted Tremane Wood's death sentence to life in prison without possibility of parole minutes before a scheduled execution at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, issuing a news release at 10:01 a.m.
- The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board cited trial problems and possible prosecutorial misconduct, citing 'prosecutors lied to jurors' and 'ineffective trial attorney' as reasons for clemency.
- Wood's case features a 2004 confession by his brother Zjaiton 'Jake' Wood, and at the clemency hearing Wood admitted involvement in the robbery but blamed his brother; investigators found evidence on contraband cellphones and conducted searches of relatives' homes.
- Victims' relatives Barbara Wipf and Arnold Kleinsasser opposed execution on religious grounds, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said, "I am disappointed that the governor has granted clemency for this dangerous murderer, but respect that this was his decision to make," while Conservatives Concerned praised the mercy.
- The commutation followed a Supreme Court denial about an hour earlier and marks Stitt's rare clemency after Julius Jones, amid Oklahoma death penalty policy and prosecutorial misconduct debates.
73 Articles
73 Articles
Spared at the “Last Minute”: A Form of Psychological Torture?
Tremane Wood was scheduled to die at 10 a.m. local time on November 13. According to journalist Hilary Andersson, who traveled to Oklahoma to observe the execution, the call from the governor came at 9:59 a.m. Mr. Wood learned that his life would be spared at the literal “last minute.” While Mr. Wood, his attorneys, and his family experienced overwhelming relief in the aftermath of the clemency grant, according to Ms. Anders…
Stitt issues rare clemency to death row inmate
Oklahoma Death Row inmate Tremane Wood had already eaten his last meal of fried catfish, chocolate ice cream and a Dr. Pepper when he was told Gov. Kevin Stitt had intervened. Stitt, who supports the death penalty, granted clemency, changing the death sentence Wood had received to life in prison without the possibility of parole. […] The post Stitt issues rare clemency to death row inmate appeared first on The Black Wall Street Times.
A prisoner from Oklahoma who was sentenced to death by state governor Kevin Stitt, just a few minutes before receiving a lethal injection, was found after hours of unconsciousness in his cell, the officials declared...
Shortly before convicted murderer Tremane Woods was to be executed in Oklahoma, he was granted a pardon by the governor.
Oklahoma Governor Spares Death Row Inmate in Last-Minute Clemency Decision
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt commuted the death sentence of Tremane Wood to life without parole on November 13, 2025, just hours before Wood’s scheduled execution. Wood, now 46, faced lethal injection for his role in the 2002 stabbing death of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf, a farmworker from Montana, during a botched robbery at an Oklahoma City motel on New Year’s Day. Prosecutors said Wood and his brother Zjaiton broke into the room where Wipf and h…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 46% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium

























