A South Carolina death row inmate facing execution this Friday has made the unusual decision to forgo clemency appeals while maintaining his innocence.
According to AP News, Marion Bowman Jr., 44, will not seek mercy from Governor Henry McMaster after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal.
The decision comes as Bowman approaches his scheduled execution by lethal injection for the 2001 murder of Kandee Martin, who was found dead in her burning car.
After spending over two decades on death row, Bowman continues to assert he did not commit the crime that led to his conviction.
Bowman's attorney, Lindsey Vann, issued a powerful statement explaining his client's refusal to seek clemency, highlighting the weight of maintaining innocence while facing death. Vann emphasized that Bowman would not legitimize what they view as an unjust process by asking for mercy that would still result in life imprisonment.
The case has raised questions about racial dynamics in the South Carolina justice system. Part of Bowman's final appeal centered on claims that his trial attorney provided inadequate defense due to concerns about how a jury would perceive the relationship between a Black man and a white woman in 2002 South Carolina.
According to court documents, Bowman reported his attorney told him:
son, you need to plead guilty. You are charged with killing a white girl and you and your family are Black.
South Carolina's execution procedures have come under renewed examination, particularly regarding Bowman's physical condition. Medical experts have raised concerns about administering a lethal injection to someone weighing 389 pounds, citing potential complications with IV placement and drug dosing.
The American Civil Liberties Union has challenged South Carolina's shield law, which limits information about execution drugs and procedures. The organization argues this lack of transparency marks a departure from historical practices when details about execution methods were publicly available.
The state has defended its protocols, maintaining that medical procedures regularly accommodate patients of all sizes. South Carolina currently offers death row inmates a choice between lethal injection, electric chair, or firing squad for their execution method.
Bowman's attorney shared his client's perspective on the decision to decline clemency:
Marion has steadfastly maintained his innocence of Kandee Martin's murder, yet he has already spent more than half of his life on death row. He cannot in good conscience ask for a supposed mercy that would require him to spend the rest of his life in prison for a crime he did not commit
Marion Bowman Jr. faces execution on Friday evening at the Broad River Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.
Following a 13-year pause in executions due to drug availability issues, Bowman will become the third Black man executed in South Carolina in four months. The execution is scheduled for 6 p.m., using a single dose of pentobarbital as the lethal agent.
