A death row inmate in Oklahoma was told moments before his scheduled execution that he will instead get to live out his years behind bars.

Tremane Wood, 46, was due to receive a lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary at 10am local time on Thursday for murdering a travelling teenage farmer during a motel robbery on New Year’s Day 2002.

He was sat in his cell waiting to be taken to the chamber but the call never came.

At 10.01am, the state governor, Kevin Stitt, announced his decision to grant clemency.

‘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.

The governor said the move meant Wood’s punishment would

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