| Edward Cowart | |
| Birth Name: | Edward Douglas Cowart |
| Birth Date: | 17 February 1925 |
| Birth Place: | Plant City, Florida, US[1] |
| Death Place: | Miami, Florida, US |
| Known For: | Presiding judge at the trial of serial killer Ted Bundy |
| Education: | University of Miami (BA) Stetson University College of Law (JD) |
Edward Douglas Cowart (February 17, 1925 – August 3, 1987) was an American judge who served as a Dade County Circuit Court Judge.
Edward Douglas Cowart[2] was born in Plant City, Florida.[3] He served as a Miami police officer before entering the judiciary. Cowart received his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Miami in 1950 and his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law in 1952.[4] He sat on the bench for 14 years, where he was known for frequent biblical quotations in the courtroom.
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:[5] [6]
Cowart died of a heart attack at the age of 62. Bundy was executed two years later in 1989 after failing in numerous appeals to Cowart and the Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn his sentence or be granted a new trial.