Disclaimer: The story contains details of crime that some readers might find distressing. Please proceed with caution.
A death row inmate from Oklahoma is set to be executed soon after the Trump administration gave the go-ahead on the decision. John Hanson was convicted of carjacking and killing an elderly person in 1999.
Here’s everything you need to know about Hanson and his scheduled execution.
The fate of a woman named Mary Bowles changed on August 31, 1999. The 77-year-old woman was at the Promenade Mall in Tulsa, which she liked to frequent on her walks. When Bowles decided to return to her car, she encountered two men named John Hanson and Victor Miller.
They went on to steal her car and kidnap her while taking her to a secluded place close to a dirt pit. Jerald Thurman, the owner of the pit, who happened to be there at the time, met with an unfortunate end, too.
According to court documents, Miller got out of the car and shot the witness 4 times. Documents detail how Bowles asked the men if they had any kids who loved them. Hanson punched the elderly woman in response to the question.
The men then stopped the car while Hanson shot Mary Bowles 6 times. Thurman, who had been shot in the head, somehow survived after he was found by his nephew near the pit. The man succumbed to his injuries and died in the hospital two weeks later.
Bowles was already dead and found in a “significantly decomposed” state by the time her body was found. According to court documents, the woman’s corpse was found on September 7, 1999, which was a whole week after she was killed.
Why would the Biden Admin stop the execution of a man on death row? Hanson’s execution had been set for Dec. 15, 2022, but the Biden administration blocked his transfer to Oklahoma from federal custody in Louisiana.
John Hanson, 61, is set to be executed by lethal injection for… pic.twitter.com/SfLmYucVKj
— Denise (@Likeshesays) June 12, 2025
As for Miller and Hanson, the duo went on a 5-day “armed-felony binge” according to the prosecutors on the case. The two robbed a video store and a bank in the days following Bowles’ murder. Miller’s wife turned her husband and his accomplice in following an argument.
Victor Miller was sentenced to life in prison after his arrest. John Hanson, though, had a much worse fate waiting for him. The convict was given the death penalty for the brutal murder he committed. “I can’t change the past,” the killer was heard saying during a clemency board hearing. He also went on to note how he would change the past if he “could.”
Hanson’s execution was initially set to happen on December 15, 2022, when the Biden Administration decided against it. The previous President wasn’t against giving criminals the death penalty. The administration disapproved of the decision to transfer the murderer from Louisiana to Oklahoma, which ended up putting a hold on Hanson’s execution.
There you go …. on paper…
President Trump’s plan to reinstate the federal death penalty…
Crimes including .. treason child exploitation and terrorism will once again be punishable by execution…..
W.H.G. pic.twitter.com/KJc5pw7uxB
— VAL THOR (@CMDRVALTHOR) February 7, 2025
Trump, on the other hand, gave the green light to executions after signing an executive order. While signing the order, he noted how federal executions are “an essential tool for deterring and punishing those who would commit the most heinous crimes.”
Hanson is now scheduled to be executed on Thursday, June 12. The convict will be given a lethal injection at 10 a.m. CT on Thursday. The execution will take place at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary.
