
This undated photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows the execution room at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, S.C. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP)
South Carolina Executes Inmate, the 3rd in Four Months as Death Row Resumptions Continue
By James Seidel | CC News Network
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina executed Marion Bowman Jr. on Friday, January 31, 2025, at 6:27 p.m., making him the first person executed in the U.S. this year and the third in South Carolina in the past four months as the state works through a backlog of inmates who exhausted their appeals during a 13-year execution pause. Bowman has exhausted all appeals, including informal clemency to Govenor McMaster, who denied it.
Bowman, 44, was convicted in 2002 for the murder of 21-year-old Kandee Martin, a longtime friend and drug customer whose burned body was found in the trunk of her car.
Despite maintaining his innocence for more than two decades, Bowman ultimately declined to seek clemency, with his attorney saying he refused to continue fighting a system that had failed him.
“After more than two decades of battling a broken system that has failed him at every turn, Marion’s decision is a powerful refusal to legitimize an unjust process that has already stolen so much of his life,” said his lawyer, Lindsey Vann, in a statement.
“I Did Not Kill Kandee Martin”
In his final statement, Bowman remained adamant about his innocence.
“I did not kill Kandee Martin,” he said. “I know that Kandee’s family is in pain, they are justifiably angry. 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’s execution marked the 45th carried out in South Carolina since 1976, when the U.S. reinstated the death penalty.
A Long Road to the Death Chamber
Bowman’s case relied heavily on witness testimony from friends and family members, many of whom received plea deals or had charges dropped in exchange for their cooperation.
- One witness testified Bowman was angry with Martin because she owed him money for drugs.
- Another claimed Bowman believed Martin was wearing a recording device and feared being arrested.
- Bowman admitted to selling drugs to Martin, saying she sometimes paid with sex, but denied killing her.
In the early 2000s, South Carolina averaged three executions a year. But the state saw a 13-year pause after pharmaceutical companies refused to supply lethal injection drugs, forcing executions to halt. In 2023, the General Assembly passed a shield law, allowing the state to hide the identity of drug suppliers, making executions possible again.
Bowman was the third inmate executed in recent months, following:
- Freddie Owens (September 20, 2024)
- Richard Moore (November 1, 2024)
Inside the Execution Chamber
When the curtain to the death chamber opened, Bowman briefly looked toward his attorney in the witness room, then turned his gaze to the ceiling and closed his eyes.
His final breaths were heavy and labored, exhaling with puffed lips. Within a minute, his breathing ceased.
At 6:27 p.m., a doctor checked his pulse and listened to his chest with a stethoscope before declaring him dead.
A Final Meal and a System That Never Budged
Before his execution, Bowman was served a Southern feast, including:
- Fried seafood (shrimp, fish, and oysters)
- Chicken wings and tenders
- Onion rings
- Banana pudding
- German chocolate cake
- Cranberry juice and pineapple juice
Despite new legal challenges, South Carolina’s Supreme Court cleared the way for the state to resume executions last July. The court has authorized one execution every five weeks until all inmates who have exhausted their appeals are put to death.
Racial Bias and the Death Penalty in South Carolina
Bowman’s execution is the third in a row involving a Black inmate, raising renewed concerns about racial disparities in capital punishment. His legal team argued that his trial attorney showed too much sympathy for the white victim, but South Carolina’s Supreme Court dismissed the claim as meritless.
Another major concern in his final appeal involved his weight. Prison records listed him at 389 pounds, and an anesthesiologist raised concerns that South Carolina’s secret lethal injection protocols did not account for the challenges of administering drugs to an inmate with obesity.
In its denial of clemency, Governor Henry McMaster stated that while Bowman did not formally request mercy, he received informal petitions from groups advocating for him. No South Carolina governor has ever commuted a death sentence to life in prison since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976.
The Death Penalty in South Carolina: What’s Next?
Since the execution pause, South Carolina’s death row population has nearly been cut in half, shrinking from 63 condemned inmates in 2011 to 30 today.
Many of those removed from death row had their sentences reduced due to successful appeals, while others died of natural causes.
Despite ongoing legal battles, South Carolina’s execution schedule remains in motion, with three more death row inmates set to be executed in the coming months.
For now, Bowman’s case serves as a reminder of a justice system that rarely offers second chances, especially in a state that once led the nation in executions.