Oklahoma governor saves death row inmate, calls it justice. But evidence says he never stopped being a criminal, even behind bars

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt spared the life of death row inmate Tremane Wood, commuting his sentence to life without parole just hours before he was scheduled to be executed on November 13, 2025. This is a massive decision because the governor has only granted clemency one other time in his seven years in office, and only half a dozen prisoners have received clemency in Oklahoma since 1972, per Fox News.

Wood, who is 46, was originally sentenced to death for the fatal stabbing of 19-year-old farmworker Ronnie Wipf during a robbery in Oklahoma City on New Year’s Day in 2002. Stitt’s action followed a recommendation from the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which voted 3-2 in favor of clemency on November 5.