This week in 1986

“I am Jerome Bowden, and I would just like to state that my execution is about to be carried out. And I would like to thank the people at this institution for taking such good care of me in the way that they did. And I hope that by my execution being carried out that it may bring some light to this thing that is wrong. And I would like to have a final prayer with Chaplain [name] if that is possible. Thank you very much.”

— Jerome Bowden, convicted of murder, electric chair, Georgia.
Executed June 24, 1986

Bowden, who had an IQ of 65, was convicted of murdering ifty-five-year-old Kathryn Striker during a robbery in her home. His case drew protests from groups concerned about mental retardation and from rock stars such as Lou Reed, Sting, and the band U2. Two years later, the state of Georgia banned executions of murderers found “guilty but mentally retarded.”