State Plans to Release Dangerous, Mentally Ill Offender to King County

Patricia Murphy
08/20/2009

Gregory Bowles will be released today (Thursday) from the Washington State Prison in Monroe. He's served his time for severely beating a Bellingham man with a baton. But those who've worked with Bowles have concerns about his release. The concern is that he's still violent and may assault someone. Bowles will be monitored in a state program as he re–enters the community.

Gregory Bowles is 27 years old. He's been diagnosed as mentally ill. And recently, he's been suicidal.

He's one of 200 men and women currently classified by the state as a Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender or DMIO. After he's released from the Monroe Correctional Facility, Bowles will have two options. He could be sent to Western State Hospital for a three–day psychiatric hold. Or he could go to a hotel in downtown Seattle.

It wasn't possible for us to speak with Bowles, but I did talk to several people who've worked with him at Monroe. One of those is Randy Vanzandt. He's the Community Corrections Officer in charge of monitoring Bowels once he leaves prison. The treatment team has been planning this day for months.

Vanzandt: "Plan A is he gets committed under 7105; danger to self, danger to others or grave disability by reason of a mental disorder. Plan B is that he releases to me. So we'll go an we'll pick him up and I'll bring him to Seattle and bring him to my office and introduce him to some of the other staff. We'll get him up to his residence and get him checked in."

The state program requires Bowles to keep his appointments with counselors, to take his medications and stay away from things that could lead him to be reincarcerated.

Vanzant has been visiting Bowles at Monroe, building trust and setting goals for his release. But Vanzandt admits Bowles is unsure how things will go for him once he leaves prison.

Vanzandt: "I'm hopeful about his future. My hope is that what happens with him is by approaching him with sort of an expectation of a positive future for him that he gets on board with that."

Bowles is a tough case. Just this month he's had two incidents of self mutilation. He's threatened staff and flooded his cell. But those incidents won't extend his prison time. Because Bowles agreed to participate in the treatment program, he has access to transitional mental health care and housing. And most importantly, monitoring.

Thomas McJilton is Community Corrections Supervisor for the King County Special Needs Unit. He says most offenders are apprehensive about leaving prison.

McJilton: "You go from a controlled setting where there's no temptation, from a place where all of your decisions are made for you. Now you're out in the community where, you know, realistically we can set up to have people check in on individuals. We can set up to see them as much as we possibly can, but we're not with them 24 hours. They're going to have to make decisions on their own, they're going to have to go see their treatment provider every day to take medicine if that's what's called for."

McJilton says the program participants will make mistakes. It's up to his team of Community Corrections Officers to minimize the impact on public safety. That can mean anything from a reprimand to an arrest.

Because he's so difficult to manage, Bowles has spent most of his time in the prison's intensive management unit. He's rarely seen anyone other than his treatment team and a few corrections officers. That lack of socialization is a big concern for Vanzandt. It's one of the reasons he plans to check in on Bowles every day.

The state's Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender program has been around since 1999. A study this year determined that the program does reduce felony and violent recidivism. But when things go wrong, the consequences are tragic.

KING 5 Host Jean Enerson: "First degree murder charges have been filed now against the man who confessed to stabbing a Capitol Hill woman in Seattle on New Year's Eve. But prosecutors say the real issue is why the system failed to keep better tabs on the man."

In 2008 Shannon Harps was stabbed to death by James Williams. He's since been sentenced to 35 years in prison for the murder. But the increasing number of inmates with mental health problems is overwhelming state prisons.

Chad Lewis is spokesperson for the State Department of Corrections. He says the state has nearly 16,000 inmates and about 3,000 of them have some kind of mental health issue.

Lewis: "We have more mentally ill than we have in two state hospitals. What happens is we become the de facto mental health hospital. That's not something we're complaining about, that's where service is, but that's the reality."

Since 2002 the state's prison population has increased only slightly, yet spending on mental health drugs has gone up by more than $4 million.

Some are concerned about the DOC's ability adequately meet the overall mental health needs of its prison population. That weighs heavily on the DMIO treatment and monitoring team. Scott Frakes is superintendent of Monroe Correctional Complex.

Frakes: "There are some significant issues that we all, as citizens of Washington, we all need to have ownership in. And at the same time, letting the public know how many resources and people are committed to providing the services to these men and women, as well as to all of us, to keep us safe."

The future is uncertain for Gregory Bowles. As a Dangerous Mentally Ill Offender he'll have help making the right life choices for the next five years. But going from the confines of prison to the relative freedom that the program allows is not easy. In the end, it will be his choice to remain out of prison.

Patricia Murphy, KUOW News.

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