Marion Bowman Jr., 44, was executed by lethal injection in South Carolina on Friday, marking the third time in four months the state has carried out the death penalty. Bowman was convicted of murdering his friend, 21-year-old Kandee Martin, whose burned body was found in the trunk of a car in 2001. Bowman maintained his innocence throughout his appeals, stating in his final statement that he did not kill Martin.
Bowman’s lawyers had raised questions about his conviction, citing that he was convicted on the word of several friends and relatives who received plea deals with prosecutors in exchange for their testimony. Bowman was offered a plea deal for a life sentence, but chose to go to trial, stating he was not guilty.
This execution was the third in South Carolina since September, when the state resumed carrying out the death penalty after a 13-year pause. The pause was caused by the state’s difficulty obtaining lethal injection drugs, which expired due to pharmaceutical companies’ concerns about having to disclose their sales to state officials.
Bowman’s execution was the first in the U.S. this year, and is part of a planned schedule of executions every five weeks until the remaining three inmates who have run out of appeals are put to death. South Carolina has executed 46 inmates since the death penalty was resumed in the U.S. in 1976.
Bowman’s lawyer, Lindsey Vann, stated that her client did not want to spend additional decades in prison for a crime he did not commit, and had already spent more than half his life on death row. Bowman’s final meal consisted of fried seafood, chicken wings, and various desserts.
In his final statement, Bowman apologized to Martin’s family, saying that his death might bring them relief and the ability to focus on good times and funny stories. He also expressed his concerns about the fairness of the criminal justice system, stating that death row inmates are often viewed as the worst of the worst, but that they have all grown and changed from what they were when they committed their crimes.