Dr. Mark Fowler
ON THE RECORD · 8 verbatim quotes · every quote source-verified
“The Lord gives and the Lord takes away,”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler offered a darker take on Pike's survival, invoking scripture about the Lord giving and taking away.
“How can you morally say, ‘I’m for the death penalty so long as someone else does the work?'”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler asked how one can morally support the death penalty while leaving the work to others, arguing he carries out executions as a moral obligation.
“I do things that nobody wants to do.”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler said he does things that nobody else wants to do, viewing participation in executions as a moral duty.
“People said bad things about Jesus, didn’t they?”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler described the criticism against him as a calumny and compared himself to Jesus, noting people said bad things about Jesus too.
“I’m not an evil, vicious person. I’m not unscrupulous. I’m not uncaring, and I’m not incompetent,”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler insisted he is not evil, unscrupulous, uncaring, or incompetent amid criticism over the botched execution.
“They felt that if they could humiliate me I would step back from it — because I promise you, there ain’t anybody else in Tennessee going to sign up for it now,”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler accused bullies of trying to humiliate him into stepping back from his role, saying no one else in Tennessee would sign up for the job.
“There are times when you have to draw a line and say,‘You have traversed socially acceptable norms and we must extract from you the ultimate penalty,”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler told New York Magazine that there are times when society must extract the ultimate penalty from those who cross socially acceptable norms.
“They should have stopped and reassessed, and they didn’t,”
Dr. Mark Fowler · said date not stated · reported 2026-10-31
Fowler admitted mistakes were made during Pike's execution, saying staff should have responded when she complained of arm pain.