A federal veterans’ hospital in Mississippi has restarted its search for a head chaplain after a newspaper reported that their top candidate, who holds the same position in Maine’s veterans’ system, was convicted of killing his wife nearly three decades ago.

James T. Luoma, 64, has been head chaplain at the VA Maine Healthcare Systems-Togus since October 2013. Last year, the Kennebec Journal reported that the decorated Vietnam War veteran shot and killed his wife in 1986 at their Ohio home, a fact that Togus officials might not have known previously.

Initially convicted of murder, Luoma got a new trial and a manslaughter conviction that reduced his sentence. After leaving prison in 2004, he became a minister and got a job with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Dayton, Ohio, starting his career in the veterans’ system.

Last month, The Clarion-Ledger reported that Luoma was a top candidate for the head chaplain job at G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., but that’s uncertain now. While the hospital won’t address how Luoma’s past will affect its hiring decision, its former chief chaplain said many in the hospital think Luoma is now unlikely to be hired there.

The Mississippi hospital has been recruiting for the open position since December, but on Friday, it decided to toss out all applicants and re-open the search until April 2. In an email, hospital spokeswoman Susan Varcie didn’t address questions specific to Luoma, saying that “management and human resources decided to re-announce the position to ensure maximum recruitment.”

Marti Reynolds, who was the Jackson VA’s chaplain from 1990 through last year, said many people he knows in the hospital responded with “a breath of relief” after they heard that news.

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“They thought that, had the article not been written, he would have been hired and that would have been a disappointment,” Reynolds said.

It’s possible that the Mississippi hospital didn’t know of Luoma’s conviction. David Rankin, who retired as Togus’ chief human resources officer in 2010, said last year that it’s unlikely Togus knew.

Luoma didn’t return a phone message seeking comment on Tuesday, and he repeatedly has declined interview requests.

Rankin said hiring standards used by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs make it so a hospital hiring an employee from another hospital wouldn’t necessarily see an employee’s federal background check, which can’t go back further than nine years in most cases. That loophole drew concern from members of Congress overseeing the department.

Luoma, a former Army medic, told the Ohio State Nursing Board in 2004 that he had been wounded several times in Vietnam. When he returned home, he said, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, enduring nightmares replaying combat scenes. His first wife told police he beat her before they divorced after two marriages. He didn’t survive his probationary period in a police job.

In 1985, he became a nurse in a nod to those who helped him. But on July 31, 1986, his third wife, Sherry Luoma, went to their house to talk with Luoma amid marital problems. As she entered the door, he has claimed he shot and killed her accidentally with a shotgun he had been loading, unloading and cleaning with his son.

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Many praised Luoma’s transformation in prison and through ministry, with his teacher in a correctional ministry calling him “a really good student and also very compassionate.” However, Reynolds said some at the Mississippi hospital think he’s unlikely to be hired now that his conviction is public knowledge.

“He probably can apply, but I don’t think he’ll go anywhere,” Reynolds said.

Michael Shepherd — 370-7652

mshepherd@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @mikeshepherdme


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