Tremane Wood is granted clemency, minutes before execution

Oklahoma was scheduled to execute Tremane Wood on the morning of November 13 for his role in the murder of Ronnie Wipf. A week prior, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board had recommended in a vote of 3-2 that instead of executing Tremane, the state should grant him clemency and commute his sentence to life in prison without parole.

Minutes before the scheduled time of Tremane’s execution, Governor Kevin Stitt announced that he was accepting the Pardon and Parole Board’s recommendation and would indeed grant clemency to Tremane Wood. “This action,” Governor Stitt said, “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. […] I pray for the fam­i­ly of Ronnie Wipf and for the sur­viv­ing vic­tim, Arnie; they are mod­els of Christian for­give­ness and love.”

This life-saving decision was the result of successful public advocacy and legal strategy urging both the Pardon and Parole Board and Governor Stitt to recognize the disparity in sentencing between Tremane and his brother, a co-defendant in the crime who admitted to being the one of murdered Ronnie Wipf. Tremane’s brother, who died in prison, received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, while Tremane received a death sentence.

Ronnie’s family vocally opposed the execution of Tremane, a powerful reminder that the goals of justice should always be rooted in the needs of the victim.

Advocates applauded the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board and Oklahoma Governor Stitt for carefully considering this case and ultimately saving the life of Tremane Wood.