Oklahoma Governor Grants Last-Minute Clemency to Death Row Inmate

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt granted clemency to Tremane Wood, 46, just minutes before his scheduled execution on November 13, 2025, commuting his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hours later, Wood was found unresponsive in his cell at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Officials attributed the episode to stress and dehydration. It marked only the second time in nearly seven years that Stitt had spared a death row inmate.

The Crime and the Case for Clemency

Wood had been on death row for more than two decades, convicted of the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf during a botched robbery in 2002. Wipf grew up in a Hutterite religious community in Montana. Throughout his incarceration, Wood maintained that his brother, Zjaiton Wood, had delivered the fatal stab wounds. Zjaiton, sentenced to life without parole, died by suicide in prison in 2019 after allegedly admitting to the killing in court.

The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 to recommend clemency, citing the family dynamics and the advocacy of Wipf’s own family, who called for forgiveness. Governor Stitt cited their “Christian forgiveness and love” as a key factor in his decision to align Wood’s sentence with the punishment his brother received. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said he was “disappointed that the governor has granted clemency for this dangerous murderer, but respect[ed] that this was his decision to make.”

The Last-Minute Reprieve and Medical Episode

Wood was waiting in a cell adjacent to the death chamber when he learned the execution had been halted. His son, Brendan Wood, who had been present at the prison, described the experience as “mental torture” due to the last-minute nature of the announcement. Hours after the reprieve, Wood was found unresponsive in his cell. Prison officials said there was no indication of self-harm; the episode was attributed to the physical toll of extreme stress and dehydration.

Stitt’s clemency order explicitly barred Wood from any future commutation, pardon, or parole - mirroring terms set in the 2021 commutation of Julius Jones. Wood remains incarcerated at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary serving a life sentence with no possibility of release.

References: Oklahoma inmate whose life was spared by governor later found unresponsive in cell | Oklahoma governor grants clemency to death row inmate with minutes to spare | Oklahoma Man on Death Row Spared Minutes Before His Execution. He Was Later Found Unresponsive in His Cell | Oklahoma inmate’s life spared moments before scheduled lethal injection