Oklahoma is set to execute John Fitzgerald Hanson, 61, via lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. Hanson was convicted of carjacking, kidnapping, and killing Mary Bowles in 1999 and was previously serving a life sentence in federal prison for unrelated crimes. His transfer to Oklahoma custody in March was expedited by the Trump administration’s push for the death penalty.
Hanson’s legal team attempted a last-minute appeal, arguing he was denied a fair clemency hearing due to alleged bias from one board member, who had previously worked for the prosecution during Hanson’s trial. Although a district court temporarily halted the execution, an appeals court later allowed it to proceed. The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected a separate appeal, which claimed that key witness testimony against Hanson was undisclosed and obtained through promises of leniency.
Prosecutors allege that Hanson, alongside an accomplice, Victor Miller, kidnapped Bowles from a Tulsa shopping mall. They assert that Miller shot and killed property owner Jerald Thurman at a gravel pit before Hanson fatally shot Bowles a short distance away. Miller is serving a life sentence without parole for his actions.
During the clemency hearing, Hanson expressed remorse over the incidents, stating, “I’m not an evil person… I can’t change the past, but I would if I could.” His attorneys acknowledged his involvement but contended that there was no definitive proof he was the one who shot Bowles, portraying him as a troubled individual with autism who was manipulated by Miller.
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