Hours after being granted a last-minute reprieve from execution, an Oklahoma inmate was discovered unresponsive in his cell due to what officials say was dehydration and stress.
On Thursday, Nov. 13, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt commuted the death sentence of Tremane Wood to life in prison without the possibility of parole — a decision delivered shortly before his scheduled lethal injection, according to the Associated Press.
Wood had been on death row for the 2002 killing of Ronnie Wipf during a robbery. Following the commutation, he was returned to his cell, where corrections staff later found him unresponsive, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told the outlet.
Officials determined the medical incident stemmed from stress and dehydration, the AP reported. Wood later regained stability and alertness, telling staff he had been lying on his bed and may have briefly lost consciousness before falling from his bunk.
According to reports from The New York Times and the AP, Wood’s punishment was reduced after the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended a lesser sentence. It marks just the second time Gov. Stitt has intervened to halt an execution during his nearly two terms in office.
Stitt noted that Wood’s brother, Zjaiton — also convicted of participating in Wipf’s killing — received a life-without-parole sentence. The governor said the decision ensures proportional punishment while keeping Wood imprisoned permanently.
“This action reflects the same punishment his brother received … and ensures a severe punishment that keeps a violent offender off the streets forever,” Stitt said in a statement.
Before learning he would not be executed, Wood had already eaten what was set to be his final meal: catfish.
