South Carolina Executes Marion Bowman on January 31, 2025

Marion Bowman, South Carolina

Updated: Friday, January 31, 2025

On Friday, January 31, 2025, Marion Bowman was executed in South Carolina.  He was 44 years of age.  Marion was pronounced dead at 6:27 pm local time, inside the execution chamber at the Broad River Capital Punishment Facility at the Broad River Correctional Institute in Columbia, South Carolina. He was executed for the murder of 21-year-old Kandee Louise Martin on February 16, 2001, in Branchville, South Carolina.  Marion spent the last 22 years of his life on South Carolina’s death row.

Marion began drinking at a young age and he had a history of heavy alcohol use on his mother’s side.  By the age of 14, Marion was selling drugs and drinking every weekend.  He soon began drinking every day.

On February 16, 2002, Marion Bowman retrieved a gun from a friend’s home, where it was being stored.  Later that day, he was in a car with two other women, when he instructed them to stop so he could speak to a person he saw: Kandee Martin.  Kandee asked him to wait until she was done speaking with someone else.  This infuriated Bowman who stated, “I’m about to kill this [expletive].”  He also said, “[She] will be dead by dark.”  Bowman also informed the two women in the car that Kandee owed him money.

Later that evening, Bowman and Kandee were in a car together, when Bowman spotted Tywan Gadson and stopped to pick him up.  Tywan had been drinking all afternoon and evening.  Eventually, Bowman stopped the car and he and Tywan got out.  They walked away from the car where Bowman told Tywan that he was going to kill Kandee because she was wearing a wire.  

Kandee approached Bowman stating she was scared.  All three were startled by a passing car and walked into the woods.  Kandee then began walking back to the car.  Bowman then shot his gun three times behind her.  Kandee ran towards Tywan before stopping and facing Bowman, asking him to stop because she had a child to care for.  Bowman then shot her twice more.  Kandee fell to the ground and Bowman dragged her body into the woods.  Tywan and Bowman returned to the car and left.  

Bowman dropped off Tywan and then attempted to sell Kandee’s car but was unsuccessful.  However, he later picked up another friend telling him he needed help.  Together, they took Kandee’s car, retrieved her body from the woods, and placed it in the trunk.  While moving the body, Bowman confessed to killing her.  A nearby resident heard noises, discovered the fire, and called the police.  An investigation led to Bowman’s arrest the following day.  Police also eventually found the gun and connected it to the murder.  

Bowman was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by a jury for the murder of Kandee.

In South Carolina, inmates are permitted to chose between being executed by lethal injection, firing squad, and electrocution.  If they refuse to make a chose, electrocution is the default method of execution.  Bowman chose to be executed by lethal injection. 

Pray for the family of Kandee Martin.  Pray for strength for the family of Marion Bowman.  

For more information regarding how your financial support can help, please click here.