Governor to consider reducing sentences for 3 drug offenders

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – Gov. Mary Fallin will consider reducing the sentences of three drug offenders who were recommended for commutation last week by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board.

Commutation is a rare form of clemency that reduces an offender’s sentence. The Oklahoman newspaper reports that commutation hasn’t been granted in the state since 2012.

To receive a commutation, an inmate must first be recommended by the board and then approved by the governor.

The candidates are: Donnie Daniel, who’s serving life without parole under the state’s mandatory three strikes law; William Wood Jr., who is serving 199 years for drug crimes, and Michael Tippin, who has been serving a life sentence for manufacturing methamphetamine since 2000.