In a dramatic last-minute decision, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt granted clemency to Tremane Wood, a 46-year-old man who was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Thursday for the 2002 murder of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf. The execution was set to take place at 10:00 am Central Time at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board had recommended clemency for Wood by a narrow 3-2 vote on November 5, and Governor Stitt acted on this recommendation just minutes before the execution was to proceed. In a statement, Stitt explained that after a thorough review of the case and prayerful consideration, he decided to commute Wood’s sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. This decision ensures that Wood, a violent offender, will remain incarcerated for life, mirroring the punishment his elder brother Jake received for the same crime. Jake, who confessed to stabbing Wipf to death, died by suicide in prison in 2019. This year has seen a significant increase in executions across the United States, with 41 carried out so far, the highest number since 2012. On the same day, Florida was scheduled to execute Bryan Jennings, a 66-year-old former Marine, for the 1979 rape and murder of six-year-old Rebecca Kunash. Additionally, South Carolina planned to execute Stephen Bryant, 44, by firing squad on Friday for the 2004 murder of three people. The use of nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial execution method involving nitrogen gas, has been criticized by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane. While 23 U.S. states have abolished the death penalty, others continue to enforce it, with Florida leading the nation in executions this year.