COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina put a third inmate to death in four months Friday as the state goes through a backlog of prisoners who exhausted their appeals while the state couldn’t find lethal injection drugs.
Marion Bowman Jr. was executed at 6:27 p.m.
In a statement detailing his final words, Bowman said he did not kill 21-year-old Kandee Martin.
“I know that Kandee’s family is in pain, they are justifiably angry,” Bowman said. “If my death brings them some relief and ability to focus on the good times and funny stories, then I guess it will have served a purpose. I hope they find peace.”
Bowman, 44, was convicted of murder in the shooting death of a friend whose burned body was found in the trunk of a car.
Bowman maintained his innocence since his arrest. His lawyers said he was convicted on the word of several friends and relatives who got deals or had charges dropped by prosecutors in exchange for their testimony.
Bowman, who has been on death row more than half his life, was offered a plea deal for a life sentence but went to trial because he said he was not guilty.
Friday’s execution is the third in South Carolina since September as the state ended a 13-year pause in executions caused in part because they couldn’t obtain lethal injection drugs. The General Assembly passed a shield law, and prison officials were able to find a compounding pharmacy willing to make the pentobarbital if its identity wasn’t made public.
Bowman’s death marks the first execution in the U.S. in 2025. Twenty-five executions were carried out in the country last year.
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