Oklahoma Death Row Inmate Hospitalized After Being Found Unresponsive in Cell
An unexpected turn of events unfolded on Thursday when Tremane Wood, a 46-year-old Oklahoma death row inmate, was hospitalized after being found unresponsive in his cell, just hours after being granted clemency by Governor Kevin Stitt. Wood’s sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole, sparing his life on the same day he was scheduled to be executed.
According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Wood met with his attorneys for several hours after the clemency decision was announced. He was then moved off death row and into a new cell, where a correctional officer later found him unresponsive. Prison staff determined that Wood had experienced a medical event resulting in injuries, prompting his transfer to a nearby hospital as a precautionary measure.
Medical Event and Investigation
Doctors at the hospital diagnosed Wood’s medical event as dehydration and stress-related. In a phone call with Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson Kay Thompson, Wood stated that he couldn’t explain what had happened and recalled laying down to sleep, only to wake up in the infirmary with injuries to his head and lip. He confirmed that no one else was in his cell at the time of the incident and denied intentionally causing harm to himself.
Thompson noted that Wood had not eaten or drunk anything since Wednesday evening, which may have contributed to his dehydration. After being discharged from the hospital, Wood returned to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, where he spoke with his family and a spiritual adviser.
Background and Clemency Decision
Tremane Wood was sentenced to death for his involvement in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker from Montana, during a botched robbery at an Oklahoma City hotel. Wood’s brother, Zjaiton Wood, was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole, but died in 2019. Tremane Wood maintained that he did not carry out the slaying, arguing that his brother was responsible for the murder.
Last week, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for Tremane Wood, which Governor Stitt accepted on Thursday. This decision marked Stitt’s second clemency since taking office and makes Tremane Wood the sixth condemned person to receive clemency in the state’s modern history of capital punishment.
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