SAGINAW, MI — When Cetrice L. Bowens learned a jury convicted him of the premeditated murder of a convenience store clerk, he froze and refused to leave a courtroom. Sheriff’s deputies were required to hoist and carry Bowens’ dead-weighted form from the courtroom.

In the months since, Bowens has suffered a mental health crisis, necessitating a deputy to wheel him back into the courtroom to receive his mandatory sentence to die in prison.

Bowens, 42, appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Andre R. Borrello for sentencing on Wednesday, Dec. 3. He sat in a wheelchair and appeared dazed, his eyes wide and voice barely discernible. Defense attorney James F. Gust said that since his client’s Sept. 16 conviction of first-degree murder and seven firearm-related charges in the death of Tyro

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