Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 6, 2006 13:00:40 GMT -5
Jury set to determine killer's punishment
Testimony is scheduled to begin today to determine the punishment of a
Kennedale auto mechanic who had his 1991 death sentence overturned last
year.
James Eugene Bigby, 51, was convicted of drowning 4-month-old Jayson
Trekell and fatally shooting the infant's father, Mike Trekell, on Dec.
24, 1987.
The new punishment phase is expected to begin in Judge Elizabeth Berry's
court today, a month after jury selection began. The trial will have a new
jury, judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Bigby, who doctors say is paranoid schizophrenic, confessed to the
killings but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
He was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his sentence
after ruling that the jurors were improperly not allowed to consider
whether his mental illness was a mitigating factor.
The new jury is expected to hear old testimony and see evidence from the
original criminal trial.
"It happened 20 years ago, so the issues are somewhat complex," said J.
Warren St. John, Bigby's attorney.
Bigby has been incarcerated since 1987. Prosecutors will have to prove
that he is a future threat to society and therefore should not be allowed
to live.
(source for both: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
Testimony is scheduled to begin today to determine the punishment of a
Kennedale auto mechanic who had his 1991 death sentence overturned last
year.
James Eugene Bigby, 51, was convicted of drowning 4-month-old Jayson
Trekell and fatally shooting the infant's father, Mike Trekell, on Dec.
24, 1987.
The new punishment phase is expected to begin in Judge Elizabeth Berry's
court today, a month after jury selection began. The trial will have a new
jury, judge, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Bigby, who doctors say is paranoid schizophrenic, confessed to the
killings but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
He was found guilty and sentenced to death.
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his sentence
after ruling that the jurors were improperly not allowed to consider
whether his mental illness was a mitigating factor.
The new jury is expected to hear old testimony and see evidence from the
original criminal trial.
"It happened 20 years ago, so the issues are somewhat complex," said J.
Warren St. John, Bigby's attorney.
Bigby has been incarcerated since 1987. Prosecutors will have to prove
that he is a future threat to society and therefore should not be allowed
to live.
(source for both: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)