Oklahoma
Oklahoma death row inmate granted clemency on the morning of his scheduled execution
A death row inmate in Oklahoma was preparing for his scheduled execution Thursday when Gov. Kevin Sitt spared his life and announced his decision to commute Tremane Wood’s sentence from death to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Wood, 46, is the sixth condemned person to receive clemency in the state in the modern history of capital punishment.
Clemency came after a vote last week by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended it.
“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,” Sitt said in a statement Thursday morning. “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 was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker from Montana, during a botched robbery at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year’s Eve, according to court records. He and his legal representatives maintained Wood’s innocence in the murder, saying the inmate was involved in the robbery but not the killing — which, they say, his brother committed alone.
The brother, Zjaiton Wood, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for Wipf’s murder and died while incarcerated in 2019, The Associated Press reported.
“We are profoundly grateful for the moral courage and leadership Governor Stitt has shown in granting mercy to Tremane,” said Amanda Bass Castro-Alves, one of Wood’s current attorneys, in a statement on Thursday. “This decision honors the wishes of Mr. Wipf’s family and the surviving victim, and we hope it allows them a measure of peace.”
The announcement marked Sitt’s second clemency grant since taking office, with the last going to former death row inmate Julius Jones in 2021. Jones’ commutation came on the heels of significant public outcry over his case, as people questioned whether or not his conviction for murder was legitimate.
Wood and Jones sought to overturn their death sentences in 2017 with a lawsuit that alleged Oklahoma’s capital punishment infrastructure was racist and biased, according to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center.
Oklahoma
6 Oklahoma Sooners earn AP All-SEC Honors
The Oklahoma Sooners are readying themselves for the most crucial game of the season, and perhaps the Brent Venables era, when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide next Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff. After a 10-2 season, which included a 6-2 mark in SEC play, six Sooners were named to the AP All-SEC teams.
That comes after 10 Sooners earned 11 All-SEC Honors as voted on by the coaches, and kicker Tate Sandell was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year.
Selected to the first team were Sandell, punter Grayson Miller, and wide receiver Isaiah Sategna.
Sandell has the highest field goal percentage in the conference and has made all seven field goal attempts of 50 yards or more.
Miller is fourth in the nation, and first in the SEC, in punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Like Sandell, he’s been a special teams weapon for Brent Venables, helping Oklahoma win the field position battle in a number of their wins this season.
Sategna is tied for second in the SEC receptions with 65, yards with 948, and tied for fourth in the conference touchdowns. He’s been a big-play threat for the Sooners, especially in recent weeks. Sategna closed the season with back-to-back 100-yard days, giving him four on the season. He had more than 60 yards receiving in nine of Oklahoma’s last 10 games.
Earning second team honors for the Sooners were linebacker Owen Heinecke, defensive end R Mason Thomas, and defensive tackle Gracen Halton.
Thomas leads the Sooners with 6.5 sacks despite missing the final three games of the regular season, three and a half quarters vs. Tennessee (injury), and a half vs. Auburn (targeting suspension). He’s been a force each of the last two seasons, earning All-SEC second-team honors in 2024, and was a first-team selection as voted on by the league’s coaches this season.
Halton, like Thomas, was a member of Brent Venables first recruiting class in the 2022 cycle. He’s been awesome again this year, recording 3.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 31 total tackles. He’s been a force in the middle, making life difficult in the running game and providing an interior pass rush for the Sooners.
Heinecke has been one of a number of breakout stars for Oklahoma as part of a great linebacker rotation. Heinecke is second on the team in total tackles and tackle for loss, behind only Kip Lewis, and has two sacks to his ledger as well. He’s come up big in key moments for Oklahoma, including the sack and forced fumble against Tennessee, which led to R Mason Thomas’ long touchdown return that changed the momentum of the game, and perhaps the season.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a talented roster and a number of players like Peyton Bowen, Kip Lewis, Eli Bowen, Courtland Guillory, Jaren Kanak, Febechi Nwaiwu, Taylor Wein, and David Stone who deserved inclusion on the All-SEC teams. Even still, six players and a host of players worthy of mention is a great thing for the Sooners as they get set to take on an Alabama Crimson Tide team that earned just three selections to the AP All-SEC teams.
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Oklahoma
Person dies after jumping from bridge near I-40 and I-35 in Oklahoma City
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) says a person died Tuesday after jumping from a bridge near the I-40 and I-35 interchange in Oklahoma City, prompting an ongoing law enforcement investigation.
Troopers say the response created traffic delays in the area as law enforcement worked the scene.
Drivers should expect delays and consider alternate routes until the scene is cleared, officials said.
OHP says more information will be released as the investigation continues.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma Contemporary to host free ‘Polar Party’ event with winter activities
Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center is inviting families, children and community members to participate in its monthly Second Saturday program.
Organizers say Second Saturday is a free afternoon of hands-on art-making and gallery exploration held on the second Saturday of each month.
Families can enjoy guided activities, family-friendly gallery chats and take-home art experiences designed for all ages. Materials are provided at no cost, and no advance registration is required.
Periodically, the center expands the event into Second Saturday XL, which is a larger celebration featuring multiple art stations, performances and seasonal programming across the Oklahoma Contemporary campus.
The upcoming Second Saturday XL: Polar Party is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13, from 1 p.m. 5 p.m.
Guests can take part in winter-themed projects, including wreath making, cookie decorating and snow-globe crafting, along with music, treats and additional family activities throughout the center.
See the full lineup of activities here.
All programming is free and open to the public.
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