With an April 4 sentencing date looming, attorneys for former Rep. John Bowman, D-St. Louis, filed an eight-page sentencing memorandum in U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri today asking for probation for their client.
Bowman pleaded guilty in February to a charge of bribing a bank official in connection with a bank and credit card case masterminded by former Bank of America Vice President Robert Conner.
In the sentencing memorandum, Bowman's attorneys list their client's service in the Missouri House of Representatives as a reason to keep him out of prison:
Since 2000, John has dedicated himself to public service to the State of Missouri as a
state representative. John has served as chairman of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus, on the Budget Committee, and on the Special Committee on Rural Community Development. His willingness to serve his community and his state and the many contributions that he has made as a representative to his district and the State of Missouri in the more than six years that he served as a state representative are characteristics that the guidelines do not take into account, but that a sentencing court must consider in determining an appropriate sentence.
Bowman's attorneys also listed a number of reasons why Bowman was unlikely to repeat his crimes- his age (51), the fact that he is married (though the memorandum noted he is separated from his wife), and the fact that he does not use illegal drugs.
The memorandum concluded, "For the reasons discussed in this memorandum, counsel respectfully suggests a sentence of probation will best comport with this Court’s mandate to impose a sentence that is sufficient, but not greater than necessary..."
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