Mother denied bail in shooting deaths of disabled sons

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Posted 8:17AM on Tuesday, August 13, 2002

GRIFFIN, Ga. - A woman accused of fatally shooting her two sons in a nursing home because they suffered from Huntington's disease has been denied bond after failing a psychological evaluation. Spalding County Superior Court Judge Ben J. Miller said in his decision Monday that he has "grave concern" that Carol Carr, 63, would hurt herself or someone else if released from jail. Miller quoted from Carr's mental health evaluation, in which Dr. Catherine Boyer said releasing Carr from jail "presents a period of heightened distress and risk for suicide," as she encounters family demands and memories of her sons. Carr, who is from Hampton, has been in the Spalding County jail since June 8, after allegedly shooting her sons at SunBridge Care and Rehabilitation Center in Griffin, 35 miles south of Atlanta. She is charged with two counts of murder. Both Randy Scott, 42, and Andy Scott, 41, suffered from Huntington's Disease, a degenerative disorder that causes excessive twitching, and eventually, dementia and death. Family members have said Carr, whose first husband also died from the disease, was just trying to end the suffering of her sons, both of whom were bedridden and unable to communicate. She shot both in the head and then waited in the nursing home lobby to be arrested, police said. Miller's decision Monday was a disappointment to Carr's ex-husband, Charles Carr, who said she was expecting to get out on bail. Miller had delayed a decision to grant bond during a June 20 hearing pending results of the evaluation. "Why are they keeping her in there?" asked Charles Carr. "She's not going to hurt anybody. I talked to her last night, and she was in a good mood." Carr will appear before the grand jury on Aug. 22.