CONWAY -- A Quitman man accused of shooting his mother to death has pleaded innocent.
Douglas Bivens, 48, entered the plea Tuesday in response to a capital-murder charge in Faulkner County Circuit Court in the Jan. 2 death of Janette Bivens, 71, of Guy. Bivens also pleaded innocent to other charges, including attempted capital murder and two counts of aggravated assault on a family or household member.
Sheriff's deputies found Janette Bivens dead in the yard of her home in Guy. Her husband, Don Bivens, 73, was inside the home and had been shot in the arm.
Judge Charles Clawson Jr. ordered that Douglas Bivens continue to be jailed without bail.
The prosecuting attorney's office also filed a notice advising the court that it has decided not to pursue the death penalty if Bivens is convicted of capital murder. The notice said the office reached that decision "after careful consideration of all the evidence."
In Arkansas, capital murder is punishable by death or life in prison without parole.
Online court records show that in 1997 and in 2003, Bivens was the subject of civil-commitment proceedings. Both cases have since been closed, and the outcome of each was unavailable this week.
Bivens' next pretrial hearing is set for May 23.
State Desk on 03/03/2017