Wife ruled fit for trial in '14 slaying of ranger

But insanity still defense, lawyer says

A Pulaski County circuit judge Friday pronounced a 56-year-old Roland woman accused of killing her husband, the chief ranger for the state Parks and Tourism Department, fit to stand trial on a first-degree murder charge.

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Pamela Dianne Digman was arrested the same day in January 2014 that sheriff's deputies reported finding Jerry Ossie Digman's body in the couple's home on Arkansas 300. He had been shot multiple times.

Deputies had gone to the house after Pamela Digman called 911 shortly before noon that day to say she had just shot her husband after an argument and a struggle over a pistol.

But Digman's attorney, Rob Berry, told Judge Leon Johnson she will mount an insanity defense at her trial, tentatively set for November.

Berry didn't divulge details about Digman's defense but asked the psychologist who examined her about her complaints of spousal abuse, both physical and emotional, and post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Forensic psychologist Benjamin Silber said Digman only had described violent behavior from her husband when recounting an episode when she was 23.

The judge made his finding that Digman is competent to stand trial based on the mental evaluation conducted by Silber, the only witness to testify at the 34-minute proceeding.

Questioned by senior deputy prosecutor Marianne Satterfield, Silber told the judge he found no symptoms of mental illness after four hours of interviewing and testing Digman in March and reading the police reports on the slaying.

He said he found she had several symptoms of borderline personality disorder but she did not have the criteria for him to decide whether she had the condition.

Challenged by Berry on the scope of his exam, Silber said he could have provided a more "confident" diagnosis of Digman's mental health if he'd spent more time examining her, interviewing people who know her or examining her medical record.

But he said none of those things would change his opinion that she understands right from wrong and could control her behavior at the time of the slaying.

He said he did not find a basis to diagnose her with depression because her complaints all involved real episodes of sadness and grief, not the sustained depression that would warrant such a diagnosis.

He said he did not pursue her assertion that she had previously been diagnosed with bipolar disorder because she did not show symptoms or have complaints that would support that diagnosis.

Significantly, Silber told the judge, Digman called 911 to seek help for her husband, a sign that she knew something bad had happened and that she was in an emergency situation.

It's not clear how long the couple had been married. They had divorced in 1987 while living in Little Rock but subsequently remarried.

She and her husband have two grown sons, but Pamela Digman is under a court order as part of the criminal case to stay away from the men. Digman is currently free on $200,000 bond and living with her sister in Imboden.

Jerry Digman had only been the chief ranger for a few months. He had retired as a lieutenant from the Arkansas State Police after a career that included serving on the security details for Govs. Bill Clinton and Jim Guy Tucker.

Metro on 05/30/2015

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