Oklahoma’s governor commuted Tremane Wood’s death sentence to life without the possibility of parole. Wood was convicted of felony murder for the death of 19-year-old Ronnie Wipf during a botched armed robbery. Florida is in the middle of an unprecedented wave of executions. This would be the fifth time this year that the state has carried out more executions in just one year than any other year since the return of the death penalty in 1976.
Wood’s conviction resulted from his stabbing Wipf to death in a botched robbery. The needless tragedy has painfully underscored the tendency of violent criminals to escape justice in our nation’s current, chaotic judicial landscape. Wipf, a migrant indigenous farm worker, whose life was violently taken in a hate crime. This event has drawn national outrage towards the circumstances of his death and Wood’s following sentencing.
Bryan Frederick Jennings was executed in Florida Thursday. He had previously been convicted of murdering Rebecca Kunash and sentenced to death. Jennings was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. local time following the administration of a three-drug lethal injection. Kunash was drowned in a canal, a brutal crime that has sparked debates about capital punishment and its effectiveness as a deterrent.
Unfortunately, with a long prehistory of Zjaiton Wood, this rich context stands in stark contrast to these executions. Six years ago, Zjaiton, Tremane Wood’s brother, tragically died by suicide in jail. Zjaiton Wood confessed in court that he murdered Wipf. This heartbreaking news brings to the forefront important mental health issues and the types of support they receive in our jails and prisons.
Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, has authorized more executions this year than any other governor since the death penalty’s reinstatement. There are two executions left this year. Equal and greater overall concerns about the implications of such a high execution rate are rising. This shift has become the target of criticism from numerous advocacy organizations who oppose both the morality and effectiveness of capital punishment.
That allows for proportional-influence voting in South Carolina, a major test case unfolding. Bryant is currently under a sentence of death by firing squad for the murders of three individuals. This case further highlights the different practices, protocols, and circumstances of executions that states have pursued from state to state.