Attorneys ask for mental evaluation of their client

Thursday, January 6th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TULSA, Okla. (AP) --A judge has ordered a mental competency evaluation for a man accused of the 1989 dismemberment of a Tulsa boy. Tulsa Special Judge Todd Singer pushed back the preliminary hearing for Wayne Henry Garrison pending the results of the review. A psychologist will examine Garrison at jail to determine whether the 40-year-old former Tulsan is competent to stand trial for first-degree murder.

Garrison is charged with murdering 13-year-old Justin Wiles, who was last seen getting into Garrison's car at an auto body shop on June 20, 1989. Parts of his body were found four days later at Bixhoma Lake, police said. Garrison was taken into custody on Oct. 22 in North Carolina, following his release from prison there upon completing a sentence on counts of abducting and drugging a 10-year-old neighbor in 1996, reports show. Garrison denies killing Wiles.

The test for competency focuses on whether a defendant can understand the nature of the charge, consult with his lawyer and rationally assist in preparing a legal defense. According to a document filed by defense attorney Kurt Hoffman, Garrison was interviewed and "was not fully capable of understanding the purpose, nature and consequences of the case." The motion said "certain medical conditions" and side effects have raised an issue about Garrison's ability to assist counsel "in preparing a full and proper defense."

Singer scheduled a post-evaluation review for Feb. 9 and tentatively set Garrison's preliminary hearing for Feb. 23. As a juvenile, Garrison admitted killing two children -- one his 4-year-old cousin and the other, a 3-year-old boy whose body was found under the home of Garrison's mother. He pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge and was sentenced to four years in prison.