Client of OK attorney who abused alcohol and cocaine set to be executed

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for an Oklahoma man on death row after finding out that his original attorney had several issues.

On Wednesday, the Pardon and Parole Board recommended clemency for Wood, and now the case rests in Governor Stitt's hands.

"Stitt, if you hear this, as one last act of human compassion while you are in office, please save my son's life," said Tremane's mother, Linda Wood Wednesday after the recommendation came down.

The Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 on Wednesday, recommending clemency in the death penalty case of Tremane Wood, the Oklahoma City man who was convicted of murder in 2002.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond was at the hearing giving a case against clemency, but ultimately failed.

“After this dangerous criminal took a young man’s life, he stayed fully active in the criminal world from behind bars. I am disappointed by the Pardon and Parole Board’s decision today, but I appreciate their thoughtful deliberation. My office will continue to pursue justice for Ronnie Wipf. We intend to make our case to the governor on why clemency should not be granted and why the death sentence, as determined by a jury, should be carried out,” said Attorney General Gentner Drummond.

Wood was convicted of fatally stabbing 19-year-old Ronald (Ronnie) Wipf during an early morning robbery with his brother, Jake, at an Oklahoma City motel on New Year’s Day in 2002.

The jury found Tremane to be the one who killed Wipf and sentenced him to death, while his brother received a life sentence.

Jake admitted that he was the one who ultimately killed Wipf.

The board on Wednesday said that it didn't seem like Tremane got a fair trial back then. Specifically pointing to his state-appointed attorney, Johnny Albert.

"Is it true that there was a failure to give the jury instruction? That was not given in his trial. Is that accurate?" That's what one board member asked the State Attorney General's Office. "Yes," they said.

The attorney for Tremane Wood, Amanda Bass, is the same one who worked for Julius Jones back in 2021. It was then that Govenror stitt decided to commute his sentence the day that he was to be executed.

She said this seems like a clear-cut case of clemency.

"I'm not sure why the attorney general is not standing up for fairness," said Bass to News 4 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the AG's Office relied heavily on pointing the board to the fact that Wood has had contraband cellphones and sold drugs while in prison. But the first thing one board member mentioned was that the case isn't about the actions he's taken since, but it's about whether his trial was fair. If he got the death sentence appropriately.

"Did this man have adequate representation. I would appreciate your answer, and we'll have to live with it," said one board member to the AG's team.

A big issue board members had was the fact that Wood's attorney abused alcohol and cocaine around the same time he took on Wood's case.

It's not just that; he had two other clients on death row around the same time: James Fisher and Keary Littlejohn.

In 2006, Albert had his license suspended for a short while because he abused drugs and alcohol. According to court records, there were eleven complaints surrounding him and how he didn't talk to any of his clients.

Fisher and Littlejohn were able to have the courts hear their cases again. They both got off of death row, with one of them even being released on probation.

But Wood didn't get that same privilege even though his case was around the same time.

Also, Albert sent a note on the back of his business card to Wood after his sentence that read in part, "I'm sorry for everything in the past. You got me at a bad time, and it's not your fault. It's mine."

"When you're asking for the death penalty, there is a high standard, and I'm not sure this attorney met that high standard. It's an embarrassment," said one board member.

Bass told News 4 that the AG's team lied a couple of times during the hearing, like when they were asked why the victim's family's statements weren't in their clemency packet.

"It's our understanding that the victim's family didn't want to be involved," said one of the members of the AG's team.

But, Ronnie's mother spoke with HuffPo recently and said specifically about Wood, "They should let him live. I don't think they should execute him."

"She said that she is a Christian and that we all sin and have fallen short. That they have forgiven him and that this (Wood's execution) is not going to bring Ronnie Wipf back," said Bass.

According to an obituary on Legacy.com, Albert died in 2018.

The Governor's Office responded after the clemency recommendation, "Governor Stitt will follow the same process he does following every clemency recommendation. He will meet with the defendant’s attorneys, the attorney general’s office, and the victim’s family to ensure he has all the information needed to make a decision. He does not take the process lightly."

Wood is set to be executed on November 13th.