Court denies appeal of death sentence
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of a man sentenced to death for a fatal stabbing during an Oklahoma City robbery nearly 20 years ago.
Attorneys for 39-year-old Tremane Wood argued in the appeal that he received ineffective legal assistance during his trial over the 2001 killing of Ronald Wimpf. Attorneys for Wood, whose first name is spelled
Termane in state court documents, claimed a court-appointed lawyer was “struggling with substance abuse” at the time.
The high court denied Wood’s appeal Monday. In January it declined to review his sentence when lawyers argued people of color in Oklahoma are more likely to receive death sentences when victims are white.
Oklahoma hasn’t executed anyone since 2015 following mishaps including a botched lethal injection that left a man writhing on the gurney.
