Hawkins man charged with killing son is committed to mental institution
Malificynt
Hawkins man charged with killing son is committed to mental institution
by BECKY PURSER
May 17, 1998
ROGERSVILLE, Tennessee -- A 77-year-old Rogersville man has been committed to a
mental facility after he allegedly shot his son to death in November.
Warren Curtis Bowman, Timberlake Trailer Park, Lot 23, was charged with
first-degree murder in the shooting of Larry Bowman, 50, in his home about five
miles south of Rogersville on Nov. 16, 1997.
Warren Bowman had been granted unsupervised probation two months prior to the
fatal shooting after threatening a neighbor with a loaded handgun and
struggling with the sheriff's deputy sent to investigate the 911 complaint of a
"possibly emotionally disturbed person.''
Bowman was held without bond on the first-degree murder charges, and the public
defender's office was appointed to represent him.
Hawkins County Public Defender Greg Eichelman sought a mental evaluation of
Bowman after meeting with him in the county jail after the shooting.
"Mr. Bowman refused to talk to me about his case. He became hostile and refused
to sign anything. Mr. Bowman refuses to bathe or eat and refuses to put on
clothes most of the time. Mr. Bowman informed me that his son Larry (deceased)
is coming with the man that is in charge of the place he's in to take him
out,'' Eichelman stated in a Nov. 20, 1997, affidavit included in the court
record.
"When I asked Mr. Bowman if he knew he was in jail, he said he was not in jail,
he was in 'this place.' Mr. Bowman also informed me that his daughter had an
accident this week and was killed as a result of being in 'this place.' Jailers
expressed concern that Mr. Bowman might hurt himself. He is totally
uncooperative, refusing to do anything he is asked to do. ... Mr. Bowman is in
no condition to assist in his defense or understand that an alleged crime was
committed,'' Eichelman said.
Bowman was transported to the Tennessee Department of Correction's Riverbend
maximum-security facility on Nov. 21, 1997, for "safekeeping'' and medical
treatment and evaluation.
Bowman was evaluated Feb. 2 at Riverbend on an outpatient basis by staff
members of the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute, an agency of the
Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Retardation.
He was then admitted to the Mental Health Institute for further evaluation on
Feb. 20.
Institute clinicians found Bowman was incapable of representing himself in
court and that he met the legal requirements for an insanity defense and for
judicial commitment, according to the court record.
"In addition, it is the opinion of the clinicians that barring a medical
miracle or a new cure, it is highly unlikely that his condition will improve
due to a seriously deteriorating organic condition,'' states a March 20 letter
from Larry D. Southward, director of forensic services for the Mental Health
Institute, to Hawkins County Criminal Court Judge James E. Beckner.
In the letter, Southward and staff recommended Bowman's commitment to a
"less-restrictive facility'' at the Lakeshore Mental Health Institute where he
"initially'' would be placed in a locked area.
"Even though the criminal charge is certainly a serious one, this individual
would benefit from having the possibility of visitation from his family. He is
quite confused and would do better in the more familiar surrounding of East
Tennessee,'' Southward stated in the letter.
"In addition, there is a waiting list for treatment beds here at the secure
facility, and it would be at least several months before he could be admitted.
He also has other medical problems that would be addressed in a hospital
setting,'' Southward said.
Bowman was then released to the custody of the state DOC and returned to the
safekeeping status at Riverbend.
The May 8 public defender's petition seeking the judicial commitment was
approved by Assistant Public Defender Russ Mattocks and Assistant District
Attorney Doug Godbee.
Beckner signed the order the same day. The order requires reports on Bowman
every six months.