Roll of Honor
Eric Bowling
Incident
Supervisor Eric Bowling was beaten to death with a ten-gauge bar of sheet metal at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. Immediately after the crime, the inmate admitted the murder to a corrections officer. The inmate who beat him was a former death row inmate who was released from death row in the early 1970s when Ohio's death penalty was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. He was tried and convicted of aggravated murder and again sentenced to death for the murder of Supervisor Bowling. He died in January 2005 while still incarcerated. Supervisor Bowling was a United States Navy World War II veteran.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-OH-AD4735CF- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Supervisor Bowling gave the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction 8 years.
Thank you for your service to the Columbus community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Eric Bowling served in the Navy (1940â1946) before joining law enforcement.
Supervisor Eric Bowling is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In OH, 572 of 991 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 57.7% of this state's fallen. That is 3.5 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
At Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, 18 of 26 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 69.2% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Eric Bowling's cause is highlighted.
How Eric Bowling Compares
Offender Outcome
Sentenced to death
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Eric Bowling is highlighted in Feb.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Eric Bowling was killed by blunt object.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
25 officers from Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
