Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 10, 2006 22:22:52 GMT -5
Judge describes being cornered by Bigby
The last time retired state District Judge Don Leonard saw convicted
killer James Eugene Bigby in Criminal District Court No. 3, he was the
presiding judge in Bigby's 1991 capital murder trial.
On Friday, he sat in the courtroom and told jurors how Bigby, a paranoid
schizophrenic, tried to kill him during the trial.
Leonard testified that during a break in the trial, Bigby grabbed a loaded
gun from the bench and cornered him in his chambers.
Bigby pointed the .38-caliber revolver at his face and stuck it against
his ribs.
Bigby said, "Let's go, Judge," Leonard recounted for the jury.
With the help of a prosecutor and bailiff, he eventually wrestled the gun
from Bigby.
"He never said another word to me," Leonard said.
He said he believed that Bigby "wanted an out and thought he would kill
me."
After order was restored, Bigby's trial continued, and the jury eventually
found him guilty and sentenced him to die in the shooting death of his
friend Mike Trekell and the drowning of Trekell's 4-month-old son, Jayson.
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his sentence,
ruling that jurors should have considered whether his mental illness was a
mitigating factor in the crimes.
Jurors spent Friday listening to testimony and will decide whether Bigby
should die or get prison time for the killings.
Bigby is also accused of killing 2 other friends -- Frank Johnson, 33, of
Arlington and Calvin Crane Jr., 38, of Fort Worth -- during the 1-day
spree. Those cases are pending.
Prosecutors are trying to show that Bigby should die because he poses a
future threat to society.
On Friday, Leonard, his grand jury bailiff at the time -- Barbara Hackney
-- and former prosecutor Robert Mayfield gave their accounts of what
happened on March 8, 1991.
They said they were talking in the judge's chambers when the ruckus began
during a 10 a.m. recess.
Bigby rose from his chair in the courtroom and headed toward a desk drawer
at the bench where Leonard kept a handgun.
The gun was there just in case "things ever totally went sour and I wanted
to survive," Leonard said Friday.
Bigby pointed the gun at a courtroom bailiff before running out the back
of the courtroom, across a hallway and into the judge's chambers.
Bigby was familiar with Leonard's office because he had been taken through
there after the elevator that he usually took back to his jail cell was
broken, according to testimony.
Mayfield said that at the time, he could not believe what was happening.
"This just doesn't happen," he told the jury Friday. "This is either the
worst practical joke I've ever seen in my life or I'm dreaming."
Mayfield, now a Johnson County judge, said that when he realized what was
happening, he fled.
"I shot back into the bathroom and closed the door and locked it," said
Mayfield, who became emotional as he testified.
"I knew the judge was out there by himself fighting this man, and I
couldn't stay in this bathroom."
Mayfield eventually helped Leonard and a bailiff wrestle the gun from
Bigby.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
The last time retired state District Judge Don Leonard saw convicted
killer James Eugene Bigby in Criminal District Court No. 3, he was the
presiding judge in Bigby's 1991 capital murder trial.
On Friday, he sat in the courtroom and told jurors how Bigby, a paranoid
schizophrenic, tried to kill him during the trial.
Leonard testified that during a break in the trial, Bigby grabbed a loaded
gun from the bench and cornered him in his chambers.
Bigby pointed the .38-caliber revolver at his face and stuck it against
his ribs.
Bigby said, "Let's go, Judge," Leonard recounted for the jury.
With the help of a prosecutor and bailiff, he eventually wrestled the gun
from Bigby.
"He never said another word to me," Leonard said.
He said he believed that Bigby "wanted an out and thought he would kill
me."
After order was restored, Bigby's trial continued, and the jury eventually
found him guilty and sentenced him to die in the shooting death of his
friend Mike Trekell and the drowning of Trekell's 4-month-old son, Jayson.
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned his sentence,
ruling that jurors should have considered whether his mental illness was a
mitigating factor in the crimes.
Jurors spent Friday listening to testimony and will decide whether Bigby
should die or get prison time for the killings.
Bigby is also accused of killing 2 other friends -- Frank Johnson, 33, of
Arlington and Calvin Crane Jr., 38, of Fort Worth -- during the 1-day
spree. Those cases are pending.
Prosecutors are trying to show that Bigby should die because he poses a
future threat to society.
On Friday, Leonard, his grand jury bailiff at the time -- Barbara Hackney
-- and former prosecutor Robert Mayfield gave their accounts of what
happened on March 8, 1991.
They said they were talking in the judge's chambers when the ruckus began
during a 10 a.m. recess.
Bigby rose from his chair in the courtroom and headed toward a desk drawer
at the bench where Leonard kept a handgun.
The gun was there just in case "things ever totally went sour and I wanted
to survive," Leonard said Friday.
Bigby pointed the gun at a courtroom bailiff before running out the back
of the courtroom, across a hallway and into the judge's chambers.
Bigby was familiar with Leonard's office because he had been taken through
there after the elevator that he usually took back to his jail cell was
broken, according to testimony.
Mayfield said that at the time, he could not believe what was happening.
"This just doesn't happen," he told the jury Friday. "This is either the
worst practical joke I've ever seen in my life or I'm dreaming."
Mayfield, now a Johnson County judge, said that when he realized what was
happening, he fled.
"I shot back into the bathroom and closed the door and locked it," said
Mayfield, who became emotional as he testified.
"I knew the judge was out there by himself fighting this man, and I
couldn't stay in this bathroom."
Mayfield eventually helped Leonard and a bailiff wrestle the gun from
Bigby.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)