George John Hanson, the convicted murderer embroiled in the brutality of a 1999 Tulsa crime, has been transferred back to Oklahoma to finally face his long-delayed death sentence. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections confirmed the inmate's move from a federal prison in Louisiana to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, as first reported by the Oklahoma Attorney General's office. The switch comes after a push from Attorney General Gentner Drummond and an executive action from President Trump centered on upholding capital punishment laws.
Hanson, also referred to as John Fitzgerald Hanson, became an emblem of sheer violence and sorrow when he, along with an accomplice, carjacked and took the life of 77-year-old Mary Bowles; the crime scene a deserted dirt pit near Owasso became a palpable symbol of loss, her final breaths mingling with Oklahoma's earth, while an accidental witness Jerald Max Thurman also met a similarly tragic end at the hands of Hanson's cohort. The gravity of these actions sentenced Hanson to death by a Tulsa County jury however the man found himself housed in Louisiana, serving time for an unconnected bank robbery.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond heralded the transfer as a victory for the victims' families, stating, "For the family and friends of Mary Bowles, the wait for justice has been a long and frustrating one," and went on to criticize the previous administration's halting of Hanson's death sentence, in a comment he extended to the Oklahoma Attorney General's office.
The layers of judicial procedure envelop the decision to reinstate Hanson's journey towards execution: Drummond requested the transfer on January 23, coinciding, not coincidentally, with President Trump's issuance of an executive order accentuating the need to cement and execute capital punishment laws—a clear reflection of the administration's stance on such convictions and a nod to the political landscape influencing these life and death decisions.
Advancing towards what is anticipated to be the end of a prolonged legal battle, the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office is expected to enjoin the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals to slate Hanson for execution before the twilight of this year, marking an end to a chapter written in the book of legal to-and-fro, the families of Bowles and Thurman perhaps finding a closure in the echo of the gavel's final slam.
