Archbishop Coakley commends Oklahoma governor for saving man from lethal injection

(OSV News) -- Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, a Republican who supports the death penalty, issued a commutation for a death-row prisoner Nov. 13 shortly before his scheduled execution by lethal injection.

The move was applauded by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, who was elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops just days earlier.

Tremane Wood, 46, was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing Ronnie Wipf, 19, during a botched robbery in 2002. Wood has long maintained that his brother, who died during a life sentence, was actually responsible. But questions remained about his involvement, as a lawyer who represented him later suggested he did not do much research in the case.

Stitt cited the inconsistency and questions in commuting Wood's sentence.

"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.

Stitt said the commutation still "ensures a severe punishment that keeps a violent offender off the streets forever."

"In Oklahoma, we will continue to hold accountable those who commit violent crimes, delivering justice, safeguarding our communities, and respecting the rule of law," he said.

The clemency marks the second time Stitt has granted clemency to a death-row inmate during his nearly seven years in office.

"I commend the courage Gov. Stitt has shown to grant clemency in the case involving Tremane Wood," Archbishop Coakley said in a Nov. 13 statement. "The governor's commitment to balancing justice with mercy and maintaining an opportunity for redemption is laudable. In view of the particularly troubling details of Wood's case, erring on the side of life should always be our first instinct."

"May this decision signal a continued conversion of heart in favor of life in Oklahoma." Archbishop Coakley added. "We must also pray for the victims of violent crimes and their families, in this case Ronnie Wipf and those who mourn his death.

Stitt also offered his prayers "for the family of Ronnie Wipf and for the surviving victim, Arnie; they are models of Christian forgiveness and love."

Wood had already been given his last meal when he was informed that his sentence had been commuted to life without parole. Law enforcement officials confirmed Wood was found unresponsive in his cell during a routine check hours after his sentence was commuted, but said dehydration and stress contributed to that medical event, and he was recovering.

The Catholic Church's official magisterium opposes the use of capital punishment as inconsistent with the inherent sanctity of human life and advocates for the practice's abolition worldwide.

The late Pope Francis revised the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2018 to clarify the church's teaching that capital punishment is morally "inadmissible" in the modern world and that the church works with determination for its abolishment worldwide.

In his 2020 encyclical, "Fratelli Tutti," Pope Francis addressed the moral problem of capital punishment by citing St. John Paul II, writing that his predecessor "stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice."

About a decade prior to becoming Pope Leo XIV earlier this year, then-Bishop Robert Prevost also raised his voice in support of abolishing capital punishment, writing in a March 5, 2015, post on X, then known as Twitter, "It's time to end the death penalty."