Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 14, 2006 11:36:35 GMT -5
Bigby nonviolent in prison
A jury in 1991 predicted that James Eugene Bigby was a threat to society
when they sentenced him to die after convicting him in the murders of Mike
Trekell and his 4-month-old son, Jayson.
But Bigby hasn't committed any major acts of violence in 15 years,
according to prison records presented to a new jury that is considering
whether Bigby should die for the 1987 killings. Bigby's sentence, but not
his conviction, was overturned last year.
Bigby has been written up for refusing to remove a picture of Jesus from
his wall, for placing a curtain over his cell window, for wearing a
non-prison-issued bandanna and for sticking his arms through the cell's
feeding slot, records show.
Bigby's defense attorneys, Wes Ball and J. Warren St. John, tried to show
that their client isn't likely to harm another person if he's sentenced to
life.
However, Assistant District Attorney Alan Levy said Bigby's record had
more to do with his strict Death Row confinement than with his willingness
to behave. On Death Row, Bigby spent 23 hours a day in his cell.
Before jurors can impose a death sentence, they must determine whether
Bigby is a threat to society and whether there are mitigating
circumstances that would make a life sentence more appropriate than
execution.
Defense attorneys on Wednesday called Susan Perryman-Evans, a former
prison warden, to show that Texas prisons are secure enough to prevent
Bigby from causing further harm.
She explained that inmates are housed in cells with no access to
television, air conditioning or bathroom privacy.
"Despite what you see on television, spending time in a Texas state prison
is no luxury," Perryman-Evans said.
She characterized Bigby's disciplinary problems as minor.
Under cross-examination, Levy got Perryman-Evans to affirm prison reports
that showed murders, rapes and assaults occur in prison. Levy also had her
recount for jurors the escape of the Texas Seven, who broke out of a South
Texas prison in 2000 and killed an Irving police officer before being
captured.
Bigby, now 51, was convicted and sentenced to death in March 1991.
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Bigby's conviction
but overturned his sentence, saying it violated a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that juries should consider mitigating factors, such as mental
illness, when deciding whether a defendant should die.
Bigby's defense attorneys also contend that their client should not be
sentenced to death because his paranoid schizophrenia, along with
frustrations about a past workers compensation claim, led to the killing
spree that left 4 dead.
Bigby is also accused of killing Frank Johnson, 33, of Arlington and
Calvin Crane Jr., 38, of Fort Worth.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
A jury in 1991 predicted that James Eugene Bigby was a threat to society
when they sentenced him to die after convicting him in the murders of Mike
Trekell and his 4-month-old son, Jayson.
But Bigby hasn't committed any major acts of violence in 15 years,
according to prison records presented to a new jury that is considering
whether Bigby should die for the 1987 killings. Bigby's sentence, but not
his conviction, was overturned last year.
Bigby has been written up for refusing to remove a picture of Jesus from
his wall, for placing a curtain over his cell window, for wearing a
non-prison-issued bandanna and for sticking his arms through the cell's
feeding slot, records show.
Bigby's defense attorneys, Wes Ball and J. Warren St. John, tried to show
that their client isn't likely to harm another person if he's sentenced to
life.
However, Assistant District Attorney Alan Levy said Bigby's record had
more to do with his strict Death Row confinement than with his willingness
to behave. On Death Row, Bigby spent 23 hours a day in his cell.
Before jurors can impose a death sentence, they must determine whether
Bigby is a threat to society and whether there are mitigating
circumstances that would make a life sentence more appropriate than
execution.
Defense attorneys on Wednesday called Susan Perryman-Evans, a former
prison warden, to show that Texas prisons are secure enough to prevent
Bigby from causing further harm.
She explained that inmates are housed in cells with no access to
television, air conditioning or bathroom privacy.
"Despite what you see on television, spending time in a Texas state prison
is no luxury," Perryman-Evans said.
She characterized Bigby's disciplinary problems as minor.
Under cross-examination, Levy got Perryman-Evans to affirm prison reports
that showed murders, rapes and assaults occur in prison. Levy also had her
recount for jurors the escape of the Texas Seven, who broke out of a South
Texas prison in 2000 and killed an Irving police officer before being
captured.
Bigby, now 51, was convicted and sentenced to death in March 1991.
Last year, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Bigby's conviction
but overturned his sentence, saying it violated a 1989 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling that juries should consider mitigating factors, such as mental
illness, when deciding whether a defendant should die.
Bigby's defense attorneys also contend that their client should not be
sentenced to death because his paranoid schizophrenia, along with
frustrations about a past workers compensation claim, led to the killing
spree that left 4 dead.
Bigby is also accused of killing Frank Johnson, 33, of Arlington and
Calvin Crane Jr., 38, of Fort Worth.
(source: Fort Worth Star-Telegram)