OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Attorneys for John Fitzgerald Hanson, a 61-year-old Black man facing execution on June 12, filed a clemency petition with the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board on Wednesday. The petition lays out a comprehensive case for commuting Hanson’s sentence to life without parole, arguing that he suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), was manipulated by a more culpable co-defendant, and has demonstrated extraordinary rehabilitation during two decades in federal custody.
Hanson was convicted and sentenced to death in 2001 for the murder of Mary Bowles, a Tulsa woman killed during a multi-day crime spree in 1999. His co-defendant, Victor Miller—described in the petition as the ringleader of the crimes and a convicted murderer prior to the Bowles killing—is now serving life without parole.
According to the filing, Miller later confessed to the shooting of Mary Bowles, while Hanson, who has a documented developmental disability, was painted as the triggerman and sentenced to die.
“That John Hanson is on death row, while Victor Miller is not, is a state-created travesty of justice,” the petition begins. “It is the type of travesty of justice for which clemency was made” .
Victor Miller, the filing notes, was sentenced to death multiple times for the murders of both Bowles and Jerald Thurman. However, appellate courts later modified Miller’s sentence to life without parole due to legal errors, not a reevaluation of his culpability.
Miller had been found to have committed both murders with malice aforethought and was found by juries to be a continuing threat to society in four separate findings—findings never made against Hanson. In contrast, Hanson’s jury did not find that he posed a continuing threat during his 2006 resentencing.
The disparity is made more glaring by Miller’s alleged confession. While in custody, Miller reportedly told fellow inmate Ahmod Henry that he, not Hanson, shot Bowles. A trial judge, Caroline Wall, granted Hanson a new trial based on this evidence, but the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the decision on procedural grounds. The resentencing jury was not presented with Henry’s full testimony, and Hanson’s attorneys did not call him to the stand .
Judge Wall later wrote in her Capital Felony Report that “life without the possibility of parole” would have been the appropriate sentence for Hanson, citing the confession evidence, the role of race in the proceedings, and the broader context surrounding the trial .
The clemency petition also notes that Hanson was formally diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at age 52. This diagnosis came decades after a childhood marked by severe neglect, repeated institutionalization, and exposure to abuse in Oklahoma’s now-notorious juvenile detention centers.
According to the petition, Hanson was warehoused in state-run institutions where children were subjected to hog-tying, solitary confinement, and systemic abuse—conditions documented in federal civil rights lawsuits and investigative journalism at the time.
Experts who evaluated Hanson in 2016 found that his ASD left him highly impressionable, socially naive, and vulnerable to manipulation by dominant personalities like Victor Miller.
“Victor Miller very easily and often manipulated Mr. Hanson into engaging in activities regardless of the possible outcomes,” wrote Dr. Robert Cohen, a neuropsychologist who diagnosed Hanson. “Mr. Hanson often appears like a shy teenage boy…detached and unaware of the world around him” .
Jurors at neither his original trial nor his 2006 resentencing were informed of Hanson’s developmental disability. According to the clemency petition, at least one juror has since stated that, had they known about his autism, they would have supported a sentence of life without parole.
Hanson has spent nearly two decades in federal prison, serving a life sentence plus 82 years for related federal offenses. During that time, he has earned consistent praise from prison staff and supervisors, many of whom described him as a stabilizing, respectful, and hardworking presence.
A former Correctional Counselor at USP Pollock, one of the most violent federal prisons in the country, wrote in a 2025 declaration that Hanson “helped maintain order,” “volunteered for extra jobs,” and “was someone staff could trust to help train new inmates.” She added that female staff members, often targets of harassment at the facility, could rely on Hanson to support their safety .
Despite having two minor infractions related to contraband early in his federal sentence, Hanson has not had any disciplinary issues in over a decade. He poses no public safety risk, the petition argues, and would remain incarcerated for life if granted clemency.
The clemency petition also raises questions about racial bias. Hanson, a Black man, was convicted of killing a white woman. Judge Wall noted in her report that the victim was well known and beloved in the community, while Hanson had a criminal record and was portrayed negatively. The petition cites national and Oklahoma-specific data showing that defendants accused of killing white victims are more likely to receive the death penalty, and that Black defendants are overrepresented on Oklahoma’s death row.
One of Hanson’s former jurors echoed these concerns, stating that “race played a role in Mr. Hanson being sentenced to death” and that he “never had a chance with some of the jurors,” according to a declaration included in the clemency application .
Hanson’s clemency hearing before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board is scheduled for May 7. The board will decide whether to recommend clemency to Governor Kevin Stitt, who holds the ultimate authority to commute Hanson’s sentence.
The case has drawn attention from legal experts and advocates concerned about the execution of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the reliability of Oklahoma’s capital sentencing process, and the broader role of clemency as a safeguard against miscarriages of justice.
“Clemency is not about absolving guilt,” the petition concludes. “It is about correcting errors and injustices when the legal system has failed to do so.”
