Attorney General Gentner Drummond has requested the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to transfer George John Hanson, a convicted murderer, from a federal prison in Louisiana to Oklahoma. This move aims to carry out Hanson's death sentence for the kidnapping and murder of Mary Bowles, an elderly woman.
In late August 1999, Hanson and an accomplice carjacked and kidnapped 77-year-old Bowles from a Tulsa mall before fatally shooting her at an isolated location near Owasso. Victor Miller, Hanson's accomplice, subsequently killed Jerald Max Thurman, who witnessed the crime.
Hanson is currently serving a life sentence in federal prison for bank robbery. He was scheduled for execution in Oklahoma on December 15, 2022, but the Biden Administration did not authorize his transfer.
Earlier this week, President Trump issued an executive order to ensure capital punishment laws are respected and implemented. The order also aims to counteract politicians and judges who obstruct capital sentences.
Drummond's request followed this executive order three days later. "The prior administration’s refusal to transfer Inmate Hanson to state custody to finally carry out a decades-old death sentence is the epitome of subverting and obstructing the execution of a capital sentence," Drummond wrote to the Bureau. "As a result, I respectfully request that you comply with federal law and President Trump’s righteous order by transferring Inmate Hanson to state custody."
Drummond has asked for Hanson's transfer to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center before March 20 so he can be eligible for the next available execution date.