John Fitzgerald Hanson, a federal inmate, has been transferred to Oklahoma from Louisiana to face a likely execution after President Donald Trump restored federal executions. Hanson, who was serving a life sentence for federal crimes, will be executed in Oklahoma for the murder of Mary Agnes Bowles in 1999. His transfer was previously blocked by the Biden administration due to the administration’s opposition to the death penalty. Hanson’s attorneys had fought against his transfer, but ultimately he was returned to Oklahoma.
Hanson’s conviction stems from a robbery spree where he and an accomplice kidnapped Bowles in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and later shot and killed her. The Biden administration had previously commuted almost all federal death row inmates’ sentences and imposed a moratorium on federal executions, which was lifted by Attorney General Pam Bondi in February.
Hanson’s transfer comes at a time when the death penalty in Oklahoma has been in the spotlight, with executions scheduled and recent court decisions impacting cases like that of Richard Glossip. Oklahoma has a high per capita execution rate, with four executions in 2024 and 125 since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. The state’s attorney general is advocating for the continuation of executions, seeking justice for victims and their families.
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