Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted Tremane Wood’s death sentence to life without parole hours before his scheduled execution, accepting a recommendation from the state Pardon and Parole Board. Wood was convicted in the 2001 killing of migrant worker Ronnie Wipf during a robbery; his attorneys maintain his brother admitted the killing. The commutation is the sixth modern clemency in Oklahoma and Stitt’s second while in office. Defense lawyers cite inadequate counsel and alleged prosecutorial misconduct, while state officials point to Wood’s prison misconduct over two decades.
Oklahoma Governor Commutes Tremane Wood’s Death Sentence Hours Before Execution
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted Tremane Wood’s death sentence to life without parole hours before his scheduled execution, accepting a recommendation from the state Pardon and Parole Board. Wood was convicted in the 2001 killing of migrant worker Ronnie Wipf during a robbery; his attorneys maintain his brother admitted the killing. The commutation is the sixth modern clemency in Oklahoma and Stitt’s second while in office. Defense lawyers cite inadequate counsel and alleged prosecutorial misconduct, while state officials point to Wood’s prison misconduct over two decades.
02:12 AM, 11/14/2025Politics
Governor Kevin Stitt Commutes Death Sentence
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt granted clemency to Tremane Wood just hours before Wood's scheduled execution, commuting his death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The decision follows a recommendation from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which voted last week to recommend commutation.
Wood, 46, was convicted in the 2001 killing of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker from Montana, during a botched robbery at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year’s Eve. Wood’s lawyers say he took part in the robbery but did not commit the killing, and they maintain his brother, Zjaiton Wood, admitted responsibility. Zjaiton received life without parole and died in custody in 2019.
"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," Gov. Stitt said in a statement. "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."
Wood is the sixth person in the modern era of Oklahoma capital punishment to receive executive clemency and marks Gov. Stitt's second commutation while in office, following the high-profile commutation of Julius Jones in 2021. Wood and Jones had been among plaintiffs in a 2017 lawsuit alleging racial bias and systemic problems in Oklahoma's death-penalty system, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Defense attorneys argue Wood was denied adequate legal representation at trial and on appeal and have accused prosecutors of misconduct that violated his constitutional rights. State officials counter that Wood has demonstrated dangerous behavior and illicit conduct during his two decades behind bars; Wood has acknowledged some prison misconduct but has consistently denied killing Ronnie Wipf.
Amanda Bass Castro-Alves, one of Wood’s current lawyers, praised the governor’s decision, saying it demonstrates "moral courage and leadership" and may bring "a measure of peace" to Wipf’s family and the surviving victim.
This commutation ends the immediate prospect of execution for Wood and returns the case to a life-without-parole sentence that mirrors his brother’s punishment.