Edward Cowart


Edward Douglas Cowart was an American judge who served as a Dade County Circuit Court Judge.
Before entering the judiciary, Cowart served as a Miami police officer. He sat on the bench for 14 years, earning wide respect among Florida lawyers. He was known for frequent biblical quotations in the courtroom.

Bundy trial

Cowart is best known as the presiding judge at the trial of serial killer Ted Bundy, a one-time law student who was arrested for a series of murders from at least 1974 to 1978 and who represented himself in court. Cowart imposed a death sentence, and is remembered for his sympathetic post-sentencing remarks to Bundy:

Death

Cowart died of a heart attack at the age of 62. Bundy was executed two years later in 1989 after failing numerous appeals to Cowart and the Court of Appeals to overturn his sentence or be granted a new trial.