- Feb 5, 2002
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As a South Carolina man awaits execution on death row, lawyers at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are asking a federal court to supersede prison policy and allow him to give media interviews to tell his story and make the case that his life should be spared.
Marion Bowman, 44, has sat on death row for more than two decades after being convicted for the 2001 murder of Kandee Martin — a 21-year-old woman whom he fatally shot over a monetary dispute when he was 20 years old. His execution has yet to be scheduled, but ACLU lawyers cautioned in a court filing that he “could be executed within weeks.”
Bowman is not seeking to be released from prison, but is petitioning Gov. Henry McMaster for executive clemency to commute his sentence to life in prison. However, efforts to publicize his case have proved difficult because of policies at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) that prevent him — and all other inmates — from giving certain types of interviews to the media.
Continued below.
Marion Bowman, 44, has sat on death row for more than two decades after being convicted for the 2001 murder of Kandee Martin — a 21-year-old woman whom he fatally shot over a monetary dispute when he was 20 years old. His execution has yet to be scheduled, but ACLU lawyers cautioned in a court filing that he “could be executed within weeks.”
Bowman is not seeking to be released from prison, but is petitioning Gov. Henry McMaster for executive clemency to commute his sentence to life in prison. However, efforts to publicize his case have proved difficult because of policies at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) that prevent him — and all other inmates — from giving certain types of interviews to the media.
Continued below.
South Carolina ACLU asks court to allow interview of death row inmate before execution
Although every state imposes restrictions on media access to inmates, South Carolina is “the only state that bans this category of speech outright,” South Carolina ACLU communications director Paul Bowers told CNA.