Charles Bushman

Charles Bushman is a fictional mental patient and a minor character featured in the 1996 drama Sling Blade. He was played by actor J.T. Walsh.

Overview
Charles Bushman was a mental patient at a state run hospital in Arkansas. He was a sexual predator who was remanded to the hospital for various sex-related crimes. While there, he attempted to befriend another patient named Karl Childers, whom he had learned had murdered his mother and his mother's lover. Charles was fascinated by this and kept trying to get Karl to open up to him. He also enjoyed bragging about his sexual predilections. Karl was released from the hospital, but returned a few weeks later after he had committed another murder. When Bushman tried to approach him this time, Karl responded angrily, shoving him against a wall and telling him that he no longer wished to have any association with him.