Nov. 13 (UPI) — Oklahoma’s governor granted clemency to death row inmate Tremane Wood after more than 20 years on the block.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued his notice Thursday morning shortly before Wood was scheduled to be executed.
“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,” stated the Republican governor.
Wood, who was denied killing anyone, was sentenced to death for the 2002 murder of Ronnie Wipf, 19.
“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.
His sentence will be altered to life in prison without a possibility of parole.
Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole board voted 3-2 last week to recommend Wood for clemency, claiming Wood ultimately received an unfair trial.
The execution was slated to begin at 10 a.m. CST at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester until the governor’s office intervened.
Prosecutors claim Wood fatally stabbed Wipf after he traveled through Oklahoma via Montana to Texas for work. Wood allegedly conspired with two women to deter Wipf and the other in a motel room in order to rob them.
On Thursday, Stitt said in Oklahoma “we will continue to hold accountable those who commit violent crimes, delivering justice, safeguarding our communities and respecting the rule of law.”
The state’s GOP law enforcement chief opposed Stitt’s last-minute move.
“I am disappointed that the governor has granted clemency for this dangerous murderer, but respect that this was his decision to make,” Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond stated in a release.
Stitt’s decision arrived on top of February’s 5-3 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip was to get a new trial due to prosecutorial misconduct.
A group of conservatives opposed to the death penalty, meanwhile, called it a “failed policy” with “serious” errors in it.
“We are extremely grateful to Governor Stitt for granting clemency for Tremane Wood,” stated Demetrius Minor, executive director of Conservatives Concerned, a nationwide group questioning whether capital punishment is consistent with conservative principle.
It added that Stitt’s action bring “tremendous relief to his [Wood’s] family and the state of Oklahoma. Be not mistaken, the death penalty remains a failed policy marked by serious errors.”
It followed calls by other groups, most recently in Florida and California, that now publicly denounce the penalty and urge leaders to consider abolishing it.
“As conservatives, we will continue to fight this costly, unchecked government power that is shrouded in secrecy,” Minor told UPI Thursday in a statement.