Bowman faces Jan. 31 execution in 2001 Dorchester County murder

MORNING HEADLINES | The state Supreme Court has set a Jan. 31 date for South Carolina’s next execution following a pause in scheduling for the holidays.

Next to face death is Marcus Bowman Jr., 44, who was convicted of murder in the shooting of a friend in 2001 in Dorchester County. He would be the third inmate put to death since September, when the state resumed executions after a 13-year hiatus.

Bowman was convicted in 2002 of killing 21-year-old Kandee Martin in Dorchester County, putting her body into a car trunk and setting the vehicle on fire. He reportedly will have until Jan. 17 to decide on his method of execution, which now includes lethal injection, the firing squad and electrocution.

According to the Associated Press, “Bowman’s legal team said Friday that he maintains his innocence, while arguing that executing him would be ‘unconscionable’ because of unresolved doubts about his conviction.”

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