Carter seeks release from mental health custody

A man judged not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting deaths of his mother and stepfather in Oconee County seeks a new hearing to determine whether he requires additional hospitalization.  Papers were filed last week in the Oconee Common Pleas Court for Jason Mark Carter.  Debbie and Kevin Perkins were shot dead in 2006 in their home near Seneca.  Carter remained in the home with the bodies until suspicious neighbors called for help.  The not guilty by reason of insanity verdict in 2009 was followed a year later by a judge’s ruling that Carter continue to be cared for and medicated by the state Department of Mental Health.  But now, thru his attorney, Carter claims he no longer needs to be hospitalized and that caregivers are willing to so testify.  In 2014, Carter was captured in Tennessee after he went missing from the Department of Mental Health and, according to authorities, stole a van from mental health property.