The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page B2

CYANMAGYELBLK TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2B Tuesday, March 9, 2004 THE TENNESSEAN www.tennessean.com MIDSTATE 2B Competency hearing for killer be scheduled By ROB JOHNSON StaffWriter A Coffee County judge declined yesterday to schedule a competency hearing for a convicted Tennessee killer whose 18 years on death row have included multiple diagnoses for severe mental illness. Circuit Judge Gerald L. Ewell Sr. ruled yesterday that Gregory Thompson, 42, comprehended his looming death sentence and the reason he received it. Therefore, the judge ruled, Thompson was competent to be put to death.

The judge determined that Thompson knew he had been sentenced to die immediately after he was convicted of the 1985 murder of Brenda Lane. attorneys had asked the original trial court in Coffee County for the competency hearing immediately after the state Supreme Court set an Aug. 19 exe- cution date. attorneys contend that their client is insane and that, after nearly two decades of treatment for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, he should not be executed. The U.S.

Supreme Court has forbidden the execution of mentally incompetent prisoners. Lane, a Shelbyville newlywed, was abducted from a Wal-Mart parking lot and was forced to drive to Manchester. She was stabbed and left to die. Thompson and a teenage girlfriend were arrested a day after they drove the car home to Marietta, Ga. Since conviction, prison doctors have treated him for severe mental illness.

He has delusions, hallucinations and thought disorders. He has been diagnosed as schizophrenic. Winchester case may be dismissed; DA doubts evidence By DICK WOLFF State Correspondent WINCHESTER, Tenn. A prosecutor is considering whether to drop two misconduct charges against a former Winchester building official. District Attorney General Mike Taylor said he had concerns about the validity of the evidence for the two remaining misdemeanor charges against Thomas Cohenour, who was found not guilty of three felony charges in January.

The prosecutor said he had discussed the issue with his assistant district attorney general, Bill Copeland, who prosecuted Cohenour on the felony counts. The case is set for a July trial Taylor said. want to get into the position we were he said. going back and reinterro- gating the Cohenour was suspended from his job March 3, 2003, and later fired after a Franklin County grand jury returned a five-count indict- ment against him. Cohenour is accused of using his position to obtain a permit for an electrical project under false pretenses and of using a private license without authority.

Both charges are linked to the remodeling project at the City Hall Annex. lawyer has asked Taylor to dismiss the two remaining misdemeanor charges, saying they have less merit than the later met with the DA and reiterated my feelings that the evidence worth a pot of warm the building lawyer, Robert S. Peters, said. told me he would not dismiss it until he had first conferred with the At the felony trial, key witness Annette Perry, a business associate from private ventures, recanted her sworn testimony and accused Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Danny Wix and Winchester Director of Public Safety Dennis Young of forcing her to sign the document after threatening her with arrest and the loss of her job and her home. would have signed anything to get them out of my she told Circuit Judge Curtis Smith.

Meanwhile, Cohenour has filed a lawsuit seeking reinstatement to his job and pay, front pay, additional loss of income and fringe benefits, punitive damages, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as to all amounts awarded, and an award for punitive as well as legal fees. City Attorney Greg said last week that neither he nor any city official had tried to influence decision. he said. WKRN FILE COHENOUR REVIEW FRANKLIN CO. COFFEE CO.

MOORE CO. Ala. Tenn. Ala. Ky.

Miss. Nashville Nashville Nashville Map area 41A 64 50 KENT TRAVIS STAFF 50 Tenn. 41A 64 Winchester Jeffrie A. Mayes of Franklin was killed in a traffic wreck Saturday. He attended Middle College High School at Nashville State Community College, 120 White Bridge Pike, Nashville.

A report on Page 2B Sunday misspelled his last name and gave an incorrect location for the school. The Tennessean regrets the errors. CORRECTION FRANKLIN RUTHERFORD Residents hope for federal flood grant By MARGO RIVERS StaffWriter MURFREESBORO Devora Butler spent the past year watching flood waters methodically pick her home and her life apart piece by piece. Flood waters first destroyed her belongings her middle school yearbook and an autographed book by former President Carter. Then, it washed away the ductwork in the crawl space and short-circuited her heating and cooling system.

Now, her floors squeak because the wooden foundation is rotting away. The whole situation is stealing her sense of security. watching my house fall down around said Butler, a first-time home buyer who has lived in the Twin Oaks subdivision since late 2002. each heavy rain, I have to ask myself, I put the stuff high enough? Will I be trapped in the You have to make sure you have enough food and a second set of clothes at work. You have to do that kind of is one of 20 Rutherford County families hoping a federal grant will get them out of this predicament.

They are anxiously waiting to learn whether the county will receive a $2.5 million flood mitigation grant through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grant would allow the county to buy the homes at fair market value, then demolish them. They should know the answer by the end of the month, County Mayor Nancy Allen said. playing the waiting Butler said, adding that she afford to pay the more than $4,300 it would take to repair her house. optimistic that justice will Besides Twin Oaks, floodwaters have also affected homes in the Greenwood subdivision in the Walter Hill area and two homes in the Christiana community.

Twin Oaks is not listed as being in a flood plain, but parts of the subdivision flood because located near a sinkhole. To receive the grant, the county had to raise one-fourth of the federal grant, or more than $600,000. County officials raised the money through a development tax, Allen said. Since commissioners approved the development of the properties and the county has yet to form a public works department, the grant was the only option officials had available, Commissioner Robert Peay Jr. said.

Twin Oaks homeowner Tim Hill hopes to recoup most of the money he invested in his home. done $54,000 in repairs to his home because of flood damage. want to sound greedy, but I put in $17,000 to $18,000 in my said Hill, another first-time home buyer, who has kept a flood file filled with pictures since moving into his home in 2001. I hope they give me what I put in it, plus moving With FEMA help, county could buy, demolish houses damaged by water LARRY MCCORMACK FILE Among the families awaiting word on a federal grant to alleviate flooding in Rutherford County is that of Harold Smith, shown paddling past his flooded home in the Walter Hill community in February 2003. Last head-on crash claims fourth teen A fourth teenager died early yesterday from injuries sustained in a car crash in Sumner County last Tuesday.

Michelle Wilson, 17, died at 2:08 a.m. in Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a spokesman said. Wilson and the three who were killed instantly March 2, David McGee, 18, Heather Breward, 15, and Robert Dunbar, 19, all attended Portland High School. car collided head-on with David as the two vehicles crested a hill on Jernigan Road, officials said. Breward and Dunbar were in car.

Another passenger in car, Christopher Kemp, 17, suffered minor injuries. A report on the causes of the accident has not been released by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, said spokeswoman Beth Denton. IAN DEMSKY Official acquitted offelonies already COFFEE SUMNER WILSON LASSES FREE ACTING CLASS With ALL MY veteran actor, Alan Dysert television-film-commercials 385-5181 for info ERFORMING a RTS DIRECTOR To advertise in the Performing Arts Directory, Call Sara Brown 664-2185 Metro police arrested a suspect shortly after the robbery of an east Nashville service station, investigators said yesterday. At 6:50 a.m. Saturday, a robber went into the Swifty Oil station at 3200 Gallatin Pike, said that he had a gun and demanded money from the clerk, police said.

After receiving the cash, the man fled the store in a 1991 blue Nissan Stanza. At 1:10 p.m. Saturday, Officer Chad Holman spotted a vehicle with a broken taillight that matched the description from the robbery. Holman learned from the driver that the vehicle had been lent to Labrandeon Jeral Brooks, police said. Brooks was arrested and was being held last night in Metro Jail in lieu of $12,000 bail on a charge of aggravated robbery.

STAFF REPORTS Suspect held in robbery ofgas station DAVIDSON By EVANS DONNELL For The Tennessean told early in Circle revival of To Kill a Mockingbird that the citizens of Maycomb, like to move slowly. The lack of an acting pace appropriate to the setting and story is the unfortunate flaw in this otherwise promising show. One of the actors develops his pivotal character too slowly, while others in the ensemble roll through emotional points in the play too quickly. There are some engaging performances, though, and the look at childhood innocence, bigotry and courage still resonates. The drama is Christopher 1970 adaptation of Harper Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960 novel.

A major difference from the memorable 1962 film starring Oscar winner Gregory Peck is that narrator Jean Louise Finch (Lauren Braddock) is physically incorporated into the piece instead of merely being heard. Jean Louise, known as Scout when she was a child, takes us back to the 1930s. Her younger self (Natalia Danielle Dyer) and brother Jem (Nick Currier) have lost their mother and understand Atticus (Rodney Pickel), their father. The middle-aged attorney is a mystery to his children until his defense of Tom Robinson (Maurice Bullard), a black laborer accused of raping a white woman, sheds light on character and defines courage for his children. portrayal of Atticus takes awhile to gather steam.

Atticus is certainly a gentle man, but characterization focuses so much on that quality that he comes across as otherworldly. His Atticus become fully fleshed until his impassioned closing argument at trial. He should be real to us before then. There are moments throughout the play when some of the ensemble are seemingly in a rush to complete their lines or stage business, stepping on other lines or initiating and finishing actions too quickly. Their hurrying allow us to engage fully with their characters.

Some in the cast shine, however. Braddock sets the right tone for the piece with her warm, heartfelt narration. Players such as Bullard, Debi Shinners (as kindly neighbor Miss Maudie) and Austin Andries as Jem and friend, Dill, also focus their words and actions well to create believable characters. To Kill a Mockingbird is so strong a piece of storytelling that it still functions, even when some of its interpreters gotten in step with its lyrical tune. But that timing problem ultimately keeps classic story from truly singing like a mockingbird.

Circle promising, but suffers from pacing Getting there To Kill a Mockingbird a community theater production by Circle Players, continues through Sunday at Tennessee Performing Arts Johnson Theater. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available at Tick- etmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 255-ARTS (2787).

Starter Davidson 3.