Oklahoma City — The state’s Attorney General has made a formal request to the federal Bureau of Prisons for the transfer of an inmate to state jurisdiction, aiming to proceed with his execution related to a high-profile murder case from over two decades ago.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s request, made on Thursday, seeks the movement of George John Hanson, a 60-year-old inmate involved in the 1999 abduction and murder of 77-year-old Mary Bowles. This appeal stems partly from a recent executive order by President Trump that encourages the U.S. Department of Justice to take a more active role in upholding the death penalty. Hanson, who is also known by John Fitzgerald Hanson in court documents, was sentenced to death in Tulsa County for his heinous actions, which included kidnapping Bowles from a shopping mall before the horrific crime occurred. In addition to his death sentence, Hanson is already serving a life sentence based on multiple federal charges that classify him as a career criminal, all of which were established prior to his sentencing for murder.
Drummond’s predecessor, John O’Connor, had previously initiated actions to have Hanson transferred and even resorted to legal measures against the Bureau of Prisons in 2022 when their request was denied under the Biden administration. At that time, the regional director of the Bureau stated that a transfer was not in the public’s best interest, a judgment Drummond described as “appalling” in his recent communication. Ultimately, a federal judge ruled against the state, affirming the Bureau of Prisons’ considerable discretion in handling transfer requests based on public interest.
In his correspondence with Danon Colbert, acting regional director of the Bureau of Prisons, Drummond criticized the former administration’s refusal to facilitate the transfer as a deliberate obstruction of justice in executing a long-standing death sentence.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons, Randilee Giamusso, opted not to offer a comment on Drummond’s request. She stated, “For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not disclose information about an inmate’s confinement, including transfers or associated reasons.”
Since October 2021, Oklahoma has resumed executions after a hiatus that began due to complications surrounding lethal injection protocols in 2014 and 2015. The next scheduled execution in the state is set for March 20, continuing the debate over capital punishment and criminal justice practices in Oklahoma.
