Bruce Rowan is a man of “openness, intelligence and personal resolve,” according to his doctors at Western State Hospital.
They say the former Olympic Memorial Hospital emergency room physician watches Mariners on TV, jogs regularly, is looked up to by other patients and is a sensitive person.
He also takes 45 mg of Remeron for depression and 5 mg of Olanzapine for psychosis — and lives in a locked ward for the criminally insane after killing his wife in March 1998 at their home in a rural part of Port Angeles.
On Monday a judge will hold a hearing on whether Rowan is ready for “conditional release,” the first step to eventually returning him to the outside world.
The hospital says Rowan’s condition has improved to the extent he should be released to the unlocked Community Program on the hospital’s grounds in Steilacoom.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge George L. Wood will make the decision on Rowan’s release after reviewing Rowan’s medical file and hearing arguments from county Prosecuting Attorney Chris Shea and Rowan’s attorney.
The hearing, which is expected to last through Monday morning and Tuesday morning, is open to the public, and Rowan will attend.
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The rest of this story appears as part of the Sunday Showcase in the Peninsula Daily News. Click on SUBSCRIBE to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
