SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is commuting the sentences of 17 inmates in Oregon who have been sentenced to death, order they spend life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brown has less than a month remaining in office. She said Tuesday that she is using her executive clemency powers to commute the sentences and that her order takes effect Wednesday. Oregon has not held an execution since 1997. In her first news conference since she became governor in 2015, the Democrat announced she would continue a moratorium on the death penalty imposed by her predecessor, former Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Oregon governor commutes death sentences to life in prison
