Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt on Thursday granted last-minute clemency to death row convict Tremane Wood, who was set to die by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. 

Wood's sentence was commuted to life in prison without parole for his role in an attempted armed robbery at an Oklahoma City hotel that ended with the murder of Ronnie Wipf on January 1, 2002.

It is just the second time that Stitt, a Republican, has granted clemency during his nearly seven years in office.

Oklahoma's Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 in favor of the move on November 5.

"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," 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's elder brother Zjaiton, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, confessed to being the one who stabbed Wipf to death during the failed 2002 robbery.

How did defense and prosecutors react to the commutation?

Wood's legal counsel, Amanda Bass Castro Alves, said all involved in the clemency effort were "profoundly grateful" to Stitt.

"This decision," she said, "honors the wishes of Mr. Wipf's family and the surviving victim and we hope it allows them a measure of peace." Wipf was a member of the Montana Hutterite, a religious farming community with pacifist beliefs.

Both the current attorney general and one of the original prosecutors of the case expressed disappointment, with the latter saying, "Ronnie Wipf is buried on a lonely hill somewhere on the plains of Montana, and when his family visits him, they wonder what might have been."

Death row inmate: 'I'm not a monster. I'm not a killer'

Wood's attorney said her client had been the victim of an unfair trial at the time of his conviction when arguing before the Pardon and Parole Board, pointing to what she characterized as a lazy, drunken defense attorney and a prosecution that hid key information — such as plea deals that had been made with key witnesses.

Wood's legal team unsuccessfully requested the US Supreme Court to intervene on his behalf on those grounds.

Prosecutors portrayed Wood as a dangerous thug involved in gang and prison crime while arguing against clemency.

Wood himself testified via video, taking responsibility for prison misconduct and his conviction but maintaining that he did not kill Wipf.

"I'm not a monster. I'm not a killer. I never was," Wood said.

41 executions in the US this year and rising

A total of 16 men have been executed in Oklahoma during Stitt's time in office.

This year the US has put 41 prisoners to death, with more executions scheduled in the coming days.

That is the highest since 2012, when 43 executions were carried out. The highest number of executions ever recorded in the US was 98 in 1999.

An execution by lethal injection is scheduled to be carried out at a state prison in Florida later on Thursday; and on Friday, South Carolina will carry out an execution by firing squad — tying the 2012 tally.

Florida has carried out the most executions this year with 15, Alabama and Texas have each carried out five.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, with moratoriums in place in three more: California, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

President Donald Trump has been a staunch advocate of the death penalty for decades and has called for an expansion of its use "for the vilest crimes."

Edited by: Sean Sinico