A psychiatrist has found a former Ohio University graduate student charged with murder competent to assist in his own defense.Jonathan Bebb, 32, is capable of understanding the nature and objective of the proceedings against him
according to a report filed by forensic psychologist Howard H. Sokolov in Columbus. Competency means a defendant is able to stand trial, said C. David Warren, Athens County prosecutor. The court, not the psychiatrists, holds the final authority on declaring competency, according to a memorandum from Athens County Municipal Court Judge William Grim. Bebb was charged with the murder of his father, former OU professor Phillip Bebb, on Sept. 25. The elder Bebb was stabbed more than 40 times before being found in his home by his wife, Susan West, on Sept 24, Warren said.The case remains inactive though, as R.J. Shostak, Bebb's attorney, requested a second evaluation Nov. 1 before seeing the results of the first. That evaluation, set for Wednesday, will be done at the Case Western University Hospital in Cleveland.If the second evaluation declares Bebb incompetent, Warren can request a third evaluation. If found incompetent, Bebb would undergo rehabilitation in a mental institution for up to a year, Warren said. If still incompetent after a year, he would be placed in the state mental health system. Legally speaking, competency is the lowest standard of mental capacity, Warren said. 17
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