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Sign the petition today to stop the execution of wrongfully convicted Tremane Wood!
About Tremane Wood Foundation
Who is Tremane Wood?
Tremane Wood, who is African American, was condemned to die by a nearly all-white jury for the murder of a young white man he did not commit and which his co-defendant confessed to carrying out. Whereas Mr. Wood’s co-defendant received a life-without-parole sentence for that murder, Mr. Wood is one of several people on Oklahoma’s death row sentenced to death for felony murder following a brief 6-day trial tainted by racial prejudice, ineffective contract defense counsel (who the State of Oklahoma paid a mere $10,000 to defend Mr. Wood in a capital case), and prosecutorial misconduct (including undisclosed benefits provided to the prosecution’s key witness).
Learn More About The Case
INADEQUATE & UNDERFUNDED TRIAL COUNSEL
- Tremane’s trial lawyer has admitted in a sworn statement that he was abusing alcohol while representing Tremane, “drinking on a regular basis.” There is also evidence that the lawyer was addicted to cocaine while representing Tremane.
- Tremane’s trial lawyer admitted that he “did not have the time to adequately represent Tremane[,]” “did very little to investigate and prepare Mr. Wood’s case for trial[,]” and “met with him on a very limited basis and only when we were in court.”
- As a result of counsel’s failure to investigate or prepare, he presented no evidence in Tremane’s defense and the entire death penalty trial lasted for just six days with the penalty phase beginning and ending in one afternoon.
- Tremane’s lawyer was paid just $10,000 total to defend Tremane–an amount that would have equated to less than $1.00 per hour if he had done the work required to adequately defend a capital case.
- By contrast, Tremane’s brother—who admitted carrying out the killing—was represented by three experienced capital defense lawyers and two investigators with the Oklahoma Indigent Defense 2 System who successfully fought to defend him against the death penalty. That means the admitted killer was sentenced to life without parole while Tremane was sentenced to death.
RACIAL PREJUDICE
- Tremane was tried by a nearly all-white jury after prosecutors removed nearly every Black person from jury service, except one.
- The only Black person on Tremane’s jury has come forward to report feeling “under pressure” to vote for death by the majority-white members of the jury.
- A 2017 study found that, in Oklahoma, as a Black man on trial for the murder of a White victim, Tremane was 2-3 times more likely to receive a death sentence based on race alone.
WHAT THE JURY NEVER KNEW
- Because of the (previosly listed) systemic failures, Tremane’s jury did not have critical information that would have supported a life sentence.
- The jury never heard that on the night of the crime, Tremane’s violent and abusive older brother pressured him to participate in the robbery that led to his brother killing the robbery victim.
- The jury never heard about Tremane’s profound remorse in the aftermath of the crime. According to sworn statements from two witnesses who trial counsel never bothered to interview, in the aftermath of the crime, “It is hard for me to put into words the state Tremane was in . . . He was sobbing uncontrollably.” “Tremane was so distraught that he threw up,” and “kept saying he was sorry” and that “[n]o one was supposed to die!”
- The jury never knew that Tremane suffers from PTSD as a result of violence and neglect that he witnessed and endured beginning as a small child. The jury heard no explanation for why Tremane, who, from a young age was neglected by his absent parents and lacked supervision, was forced to survive by bonding with his abusive and violent older brother.
- The jury never knew that, like many traumatized and impoverished children of color, Tremane never received the proper support, care, or treatment he needed from schools or child services agencies.
- Instead, Tremane was a victim of the school-to-prison pipeline. He was over-punished for school infractions by being suspended from school for all but a few months of his 6th and 7th grade years, while no one in the system tried to determine whether he needed supports and services responsive to his needs. Expulsion from school then forced Tremane to navigate the streets on his own, unsupervised, and vulnerable to gang influences that propelled him towards prison.
- Tremane remains profoundly remorseful for his role in the crime and, throughout his 19 years of incarceration, has become a mentor for others including youth in his family and young men entering prison. Tremane earned his G.E.D. while incarcerated and, due to his maturation, growth, and leadership throughout his incarceration, was selected by prison officials to participate in the prison’s group recreation pilot program.
- Prison officials have also acknowledged Tremane’s work ethic and trustworthiness, selecting him to work as an Assistant Orderly.
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