Oklahoma carries out the execution of John Fitzgerald Hanson

On Thursday, Mary Bowles and Gerald Thurman’s family described their relief after the execution of John Fitzgerald Hanson. But, said the capital punishment process needs to change for the victim’s families. ASHLYND HUFFMAN/The Frontier

Oklahoma executed John Fitzgerald Hanson Thursday for the 1999 kidnapping and murder of a Tulsa woman.

Hanson and Victor Cornell Miller kidnapped Mary Bowles, 77, from a Tulsa shopping mall and stole her car, intending to use it in another robbery. The men then took her to a secluded dirt pit in Owasso and killed her.

Miller shot the dirt pit owner, Jerald Thurman, who saw the men in Bowles’ car. He died in the local hospital two weeks later.

The court sentenced Hanson to death for killing Bowles and life in prison without parole for his role in Thurman’s murder. Miller was sentenced to death for Thurman’s murder.

A court later re-sentenced Miller to life in prison for shooting Thurman after overturning his two previous death sentences. Thurman’s son, Jake, told The Frontier in March that he had waited decades for Hanson’s execution, even though it was Miller who pulled the trigger and killed his father. Jake Thurman was in the witness room when Hanson died by lethal injection and said the execution finally ended his long-running nightmare.

An Oklahoma Department of Corrections spokesperson said there were no complications with drug administration.

“Since I’ve been director, it’s the fastest execution we’ve had,” said Steven Harpe, director of the Department of Corrections.

Hanson mumbled his last words, but asked for forgiveness and said, “peace to everyone,” according to media witnesses. He was declared dead at 10:11 a.m.

He didn’t request a special last meal but ate his prison food tray before his death, which included chicken pot pie, two fruit cups, two rolls, and carrots.

Bowles has few living relatives. Her niece Sara Mooney attended the clemency hearing in May and witnessed the execution. She described her aunt as an active volunteer in the community and a second mother to her.

Mooney said capital punishment isn’t an effective form of justice when it takes 26 years.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a press release justice had finally been served.

“After more than 25 years of waiting, the killer who brutally took these two precious lives has paid the ultimate price for his heinous crime,” Drummond said. “This case demonstrates that no matter how long it takes, Oklahoma will hold murderers accountable for their crimes.”