Texas Department of Criminal Justice

Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Dennis Wayne Bagwell, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Thursday, February 17, 2005. In November 1996, an Atascosa County jury found Bagwell guilty of the 1995 capital murders of his mother, Leona McBee; her 14-year-old granddaughter, Tassy Boone; his half-sister, Libby Best; and her 4-year-old daughter, Reba Best. Bagwell was sentenced to death.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

Bagwell and his girlfriend, Victoria Wolford, were living in a small travel trailer which Bagwell had parked on property in Wilson County that belonged to his mother, Leona McBee, and stepfather, Ron Boone. McBee and Boone lived on the property in a mobile home with a two bedroom addition. Libby Best, Reba Best and Tassy Boone lived with McBee and Boone.

On returning home from work on September 20, 1995, Boone entered his home and found the bodies of McBee, Libby Best, Reba Best and Tassy Boone. All four were dead. McBee and Tassy Boone had been strangled and had numerous bruises and abrasions all over their bodies. Libby Best died from two gunshot wounds to the head. Reba Best had been beaten about the head, neck and upper back with a blunt object.

About two weeks before the killings, McBee asked Bagwell and Wolford to stop living on the property. Bagwell and Wolford then moved in with friends in San Antonio. According to testimony at his trial, Bagwell expressed frustration to his former stepmother two days before the killings that McBee had not paid him for a travel trailer. Bagwell said he could kill his mother and it would never bother him.

Wolford told authorities that she and Bagwell drove to his mother’s house on September 20, 1995, to borrow money. When they arrived, Wolford retired to the travel trailer because she had a headache. A short time later, Bagwell walked over to the travel trailer and told Wolford that his mother would only give him $20.

Bagwell then went back into McBee’s house. Wolford stood outside the travel trailer. Through the window, Wolford saw Bagwell strike McBee, then heard screams and two popping noises. She heard Tassy Boone yell, “No, no,” and heard Reba Best scream. Everything was quiet for a while, then she heard McBee yell at the dogs and gasp for air. Through the window, she saw Bagwell hit McBee with a long-handled gun.

Later, Bagwell took some towels and wetted them with a water hose. He wiped off a hammer and told Wolford he was going to go inside and wipe off fingerprints he might have left in the house. He told Wolford he was trying to make the crime look like a robbery and rape of Tassy Boone.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY On September 20, 1995, Bagwell was indicted by a Wilson County grand jury for capital murder in the deaths of Leona McBee, Libby Best, Reba Best, and Tassy Boone. A change of venue was granted and the case was transferred to Atascosa County. On November 1, 1996, a jury found Bagwell guilty of capital murder. On November 7, 1996, the court sentenced Bagwell to death. Bagwell appealed his conviction and sentence to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed the conviction and sentence on March 31, 1999.

Bagwell filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in state district court on September 28, 1998. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court recommended that Bagwell be denied relief. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals adopted the district court’s recommendation on September 29, 1999.

On March 3, 2000, Bagwell filed a habeas petition in a San Antonio federal court. On August 19, 2003, the court denied Bagwell’s federal writ petition. Bagwell then sought permission to appeal from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court denied Bagwell’s request on May 11, 2004. Later, Bagwell filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, but the Court denied certiorari review on November 14, 2004.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

At the punishment phase of his trial, the State presented overwhelming evidence about Bagwell’s future dangerousness. On September 27, 1982, Bagwell was sentenced to eighteen years in state prison for attempted capital murder, and he was on parole for this crime at the time of the 1995 capital murders. He also had a prior conviction for misdemeanor assault.

Additionally, the State proved that, only two weeks prior to the capital murders, Bagwell had murdered the elderly custodian of a business in Seguin, Texas. Further, Bagwell had a history of parole violations. He also had a lengthy history of threats of violence, disciplinary violations and refusals to accept psychiatric treatment while in prison. In fact, he had to wear leg restraints during his capital murder trial because of numerous threats he had made to law enforcement personnel. He was a frequent abuser of cocaine. And, he told Victoria Wolford that his God “put me here to kill some people."

ProDeathPenalty.com

Dennis Bagwell, 35, was found guilty in the September 1995 murders of his mother, Leona McBee, 47; her niece, Libby Best, 24; Best's 4-year-old daughter, Reba, and 14-year-old Tassy Boone, the granddaughter of Leona McBee's common-law, husband, Ronald Boone. The four were killed in their home north of Stockdale in Wilson County. Bagwell had gone to his mother's home to borrow money and murdered everyone in the house when she refused. Ronald Boone found all four victims when he returned home from work. Libby Best was shot twice in the head, and her 4-year-old daughter was beaten to death with a metal exercise bar and a hammer, crushing her skull. Leona and Tassy were beaten and strangled and their necks were crushed and broken. Tassy had also been sexually assaulted. An Atascosa County jury, trying him in November 1996 in a change of venue, recommended the death penalty.

Bagwell, at the time of the murders, was on parole from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He had served 13 years of an 18-year sentence for a 1982 attempted capital murder in Hidalgo County, where he was convicted of robbing and slitting the throat of an undocumented immigrant. In 1997, he was convicted of kicking to death George Barry, a 63-year-old janitor in a Seguin bar two weeks before the quadruple murder, and was sentenced to life in prison.

Texas Execution Information Center by David Carson.

Dennis Wayne Bagwell, 41, was executed by lethal injection on 17 February 2005 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of four members of his family.

Dennis Bagwell and his girlfriend, Victoria Wolford, lived in Wilson county in a small travel trailer on property owned by Bagwell's mother, Leona McBee, and her common-law husband, Ronald Boone. Boone and McBee also lived on the property in a mobile home, which they shared with Boone's granddaughter, Tassy Boone; McBee's niece, Libby Best; and Best's daughter, Reba Best.

In September 1995, McBee asked Bagwell and Wolford to move. They moved in with some friends in San Antonio. The travel trailer they had been living in remained on Boone and McBee's property. About two weeks later, on 20 September, Bagwell and Wolford drove to his mother's home to borrow money. At Bagwell's trial, Wolford testified that she had a headache and went into the travel trailer to rest. A short time later, Bagwell walked over and told her that his mother would only give him $20.

According to Wolford, Bagwell then went back to the mobile home, while she stood outside the travel trailer. Through the window, Wolford saw Bagwell strike his mother, then she heard screams and two popping noises. She heard Tassy Boone yell, "No, no," and heard Reba Best scream. Everything was quiet for a while, then Wolford heard McBee yell at the dogs and gasp for air. Then, through the window, she saw Bagwell hit McBee with a long-handled gun. Later, Wolford testified, Bagwell took some towels, wetted them with a water hose, and wiped off a hammer. He also told Wolford that he was going to go inside to wipe off fingerprints he might have left in the house. He said that he wanted to make the crime look like a robbery and a rape of Tassy Boone.

The bodies were discovered by Ronald Boone, when he came home from work. Leona McBee, 47, had been beaten and strangled, and her neck was broken. Libby Best, 24, had been shot twice in the head. Tassy Boone, 14, had been beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted. Her neck was also broken. Reba Best, 4, had been beaten, and her skull was crushed.

Bagwell had a prior conviction for attempted capital murder, for robbing and slitting the throat of an illegal immigrant. He began serving an 18-year sentence in October 1982. He was paroled in October 1989. In September 1992, he was returned to prison on a parole violation. He was paroled again in January 1993. (At the time, the state of Texas was forced to meet strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.) Bagwell was still on parole when he murdered his mother and relatives.

In addition to Wolford's testimony, Bagwell was linked to the crime by a bloody shoeprint found underneath Tassy Boone's body. Bagwell denied any involvement in the crime. His lawyers implicated Tassy's mother as the killer, but she established that she was in California at the time of the crime.

At Bagwell's punishment hearing, the state also presented evidence of his involvement in another murder that took place two weeks before the capital murders. Bagwell kicked George Barry, 63, to death in a bar where Barry worked as a janitor. A sheriff's deputy also testified that Bagwell made numerous threats against law enforcement personnel prior to his trial. Bagwell was also addicted to cocaine.

A jury convicted Bagwell of capital murder in November 1996 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in March 1999. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

In 1997, Bagwell was convicted of killing George Barry.

"They're fixin' to execute an innocent man," Bagwell said in an interview the day before his execution. He said that he never went to his mother's home and doesn't know who committed the murders. He said that Victoria Wolford was coerced into testifying against him. Despite his claim of innocence, Bagwell said that he hoped that his execution would "hurry up and go through."

"If they offered me a life sentence, I wouldn't take it. I'm not walking through these hallways as an 80- or 90-year-old for something I didn't do," he said. "I'm ready to go. I'm tired of living in a cage like an animal." At his execution, Bagwell expressed love to his friends. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Dennis Bagwell - TEXAS - February 17, 2005

The state of Texas is scheduled to execute Dennis Bagwell Feb. 17 for the 1995 murders of his mother, Leona McBee, his half-sister, Libby Best, and two other family members, Reba Best and Tassy Boone, who were children. The murders took place in Wilson County.

Bagwell was granted a stay in 2000 while a federal judge considered a series of objections Bagwell filed regarding the way his criminal case was handled.

Bagwell's case involves concerning issues which are common in capital punishment. Most notably, there is reason to believe his attorney at trial provided him with ineffective assistance of trial. His attorney failed to interview the state's star witness Victoria Wolford, who was with Bagwell at the time of the crimes, prior to the trial. Bagwell's attorney also failed to adequately investigate and present mitigating evidence such as Bagwell's traumatic childhood to the jury. This omission denied the jury the opportunity to hear that Bagwell was often left unsupervised as a child and was beaten by his alcoholic step-father. Bagwell reportedly was made to sleep in the same room as his mother while she engaged in sexual activity. His step-father frequently forced Bagwell and his sister to stare at a blank television screen for hours at a time.

When this issue was raised on appeal, the U.S. District Court's responded to the trial attorney's failure to find and present this evidence by stating the state does not require that one's counsel to exercise "clairvoyance."

During the penalty phase of Bagwell's trial the jury was not specifically informed that a single juror could prevent a death sentence. His jury also did not receive instructions on the possibility of parole. In Texas, one of two states with the death penalty which does not have life without parole, the jury is not legally entitled to information about alternative sentences.

Bagwell was shackled and restrained during his trial - a practice which courts have taken into account when reversing sentences because of its prejudicial effect on the jury's perception of the defendant.

Texas has executed 337 people since 1976. This is more executions than next five states with highest execution rates combined.

Please take a moment to write Gov. Perry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles requesting the state of Texas commute Bagwell's sentence as he was not adequately represented at trial. Bagwell has yet to have the opportunity for a jury to determine his sentence while weighing all of the mitigating circumstances surrounding his case. "

Houston Chronicle

"Killer of mom, 3 others executed." (Associated Press Feb. 17, 2005, 10:50PM)

HUNTSVILLE - Convicted murderer Dennis Wayne Bagwell was executed Thursday evening for the slayings of his mother and three others in a bloody spree almost 10 years ago near San Antonio. Bagwell did not acknowledge the four relatives of his victims, but he thanked a spiritual adviser for being there. "I love you all," he told people he had invited to watch him die. As the drugs began taking effect, he gasped a couple of times and was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m., seven minutes later.

Bagwell, 41, denied involvement in the massacre of his mother, Leona McBee, 47; her niece, Libby Best, 24; Best's daughter, Reba, 4; and Tassy Boone, 14, the granddaughter of McBee's common-law husband, Ron Boone. All were slain at a mobile home in a rural area of Wilson County near Stockdale, about 35 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Prosecutors described Bagwell at his trial as a "natural-born killer." The former meat salesman was born in Denver and grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and the Dallas area. He was on parole at the time of the quadruple slayings, serving 13 years of an 18-year sentence for attempted capital murder in Hidalgo County for slitting the throat of an illegal immigrant.

Bagwell also was convicted of another slaying that occurred two weeks before the Wilson County killings. In that case, he received a life prison term for stomping to death a janitor at a Seguin bar.

The lethal injection was the third this year in Texas, the nation's most active capital punishment state. At least 10 other inmates have execution dates in the next three months. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay for defense lawyers, who argued Bagwell was improperly denied his right to testify at his capital murder trial. In an interview Wednesday, Bagwell said he was grateful for the 11th-hour efforts but would welcome death. "I'm at peace with it," he said. "I'm ready to go. I'm tired of living in a cage like an animal."

Reuters News

"Texas Man Executed for Killing His Mother, 3 Others." (Thu Feb 17, 2005 08:14 PM ET)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) - A man convicted of killing his mother and three other people in a dispute over money was put to death by lethal injection on Thursday in a Texas prison. Dennis Bagwell, 41, was the third person executed this year in the state, which leads the nation in carrying out capital punishment.

He was condemned for killing his mother, Leona McBee, 47, and three others in her mobile home near Stockdale, south of San Antonio, on Sept. 20, 1995. The victims were shot, stomped, choked and beaten to death because, according to testimony by Bagwell's girlfriend, he asked his mother for money and she gave him only $20.

Bagwell has said he did not commit the crime, but made no mention of it in his brief final statement while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber. "I love you all. All right, Warden, I'm ready," he said.

For his last meal, Bagwell requested a beefsteak with A1 sauce, six pieces of fried chicken, barbecued ribs, two hamburgers, a pound of fried bacon, a dozen scrambled eggs, french fries, onion rings, salad with ranch dressing, peach cobbler, ice tea, milk and coffee.

He was the 339th person executed in Texas since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982, six years after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a national ban on capital punishment. The state currently has 10 more executions scheduled this year.

CNNNewscenter

"Texas executes killer of mom, 3 others." (Friday, February 18, 2005)

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (Reuters) -- A man convicted of killing his mother and three other people in a dispute over money was put to death by lethal injection Thursday in a Texas prison. Dennis Bagwell, 41, was the third person executed this year in the state, which leads the nation in carrying out capital punishment.

He was condemned for killing his mother, Leona McBee, 47, and three others in her mobile home near Stockdale, south of San Antonio, on September 20, 1995. The victims were shot, stomped, choked and beaten to death because, according to testimony by Bagwell's girlfriend, he asked his mother for money and she gave him only $20.

Bagwell has said he did not commit the crime, but made no mention of it in his brief final statement while strapped to a gurney in the Texas death chamber. "I love you all. All right, Warden, I'm ready," he said.

For his last meal, Bagwell requested a beefsteak with A1 sauce, six pieces of fried chicken, barbecued ribs, two hamburgers, a pound of fried bacon, a dozen scrambled eggs, french fries, onion rings, salad with ranch dressing, peach cobbler, ice tea, milk and coffee.

He was the 339th person executed in Texas since the state resumed the death penalty in 1982, six years after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a national ban on capital punishment. The state currently has 10 more executions scheduled this year.

Ft. Worth Star-Telegram

"Man is executed for killing four," by Michael Graczyk. (AP Feb. 18, 2005)

HUNTSVILLE - Convicted murderer Dennis Wayne Bagwell was executed Thursday evening for killing his mother and three other people, including a 4-year-old girl, almost 10 years ago near San Antonio.

Bagwell, 41, did not acknowledge the four relatives of his victims who watched from a window, but he thanked a spiritual adviser for being there. "I love you all," he told the handful of people he had invited to watch him die. He was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m.

Bagwell denied killing his mother, Leona McBee, 47; her niece, Libby Best, 24; Best's daughter, Reba, 4; and Tassy Boone, 14, the granddaughter of McBee's husband, Ron Boone. All were slain Sept. 20, 1995, in a mobile home in a rural area of Wilson County near Stockdale, about 35 miles southeast of San Antonio. At his trial, prosecutors described Bagwell as a "natural-born killer."

A pathologist testified that the weapons used to beat the victims included a claw hammer, the neck of a guitar, a spring from an exercise machine and a broken .22-caliber rifle. At least one person had been stomped. One was shot twice in the head. Two of the victims were strangled so violently that their necks were broken.

When the four were killed, Bagwell was on parole after serving 13 years of an 18-year sentence for attempted capital murder in Hidalgo County for slitting the throat of an illegal immigrant.

After he was sent to Death Row, Bagwell was convicted of a slaying that occurred two weeks before the Wilson County killings. In that case, he received a life sentence for stomping a janitor to death at a bar in Seguin.

Bagwell's execution was the third this year in Texas. Ten inmates have execution dates set in the next three months. "I'm just glad it's all over with," said Monica Boone, Tassy Boone's mother. "Everybody that's been touched by this madman can rest in peace." In an interview Wednesday on Death Row, Bagwell said he would welcome death. "I'm ready to go," he said. "I'm tired of living in a cage like an animal and being treated like an animal."

Huntsville Item

"Man executed for killing mom, 3 others," by Kelly Prew. (February 18, 2005)

Dennis Bagwell spoke few last words from the death chamber Thursday night, saying only, "I love you all," to his few friends who witnessed his execution shortly after 6 p.m. Bagwell, 41, was convicted of the slayings of his mother and three others in a bloody spree almost 10 years ago near San Antonio.

His goodbye was short, not acknowledging the family members of the victims with his eyes or his words. He gasped, snorted and gurgled as the lethal does was administered, and he was pronounced dead at 6:19 p.m. Bagwell died having never admitted guilt.

Bagwell denied involvement in the massacre of his mother, Leona McBee, 47; her niece, Libby Best, 24; Best's daughter, Reba, 4; and Tassy Boone, 14, the granddaughter of McBee's common-law husband, Ron Boone. All were slain at a mobile home in a rural area of Wilson County near Stockdale, about 35 miles southeast of San Antonio.

Prosecutors described Bagwell at his trial as a "natural-born killer." The former meat salesman was born in Denver and grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and the Dallas area. He was on parole at the time of the quadruple slayings, serving 13 years of an 18-year sentence for attempted capital murder in Hidalgo County for slitting the throat of an illegal immigrant. Bagwell also was convicted of another slaying that occurred two weeks before the Wilson County killings. In that case, he received a life prison term for stomping to death a janitor at a Seguin bar.

The lethal injection was the third this year in Texas, the nation's most active capital punishment state. At least 10 other inmates have execution dates over the next three months.

A pathologist testified at Bagwell's trial it appeared the victims had been beaten with a claw hammer, the neck of a guitar, a spring from an exercise machine and a broken .22-caliber rifle. At least one victim had been stomped on. One was shot twice in the head, and two of the victims were strangled so violently their necks were broken.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a stay requested by lawyers, who argued Bagwell was improperly denied his right to testify at his capital murder trial.

In an interview Wednesday at death row, Bagwell said he was grateful for the 11th-hour efforts, but would welcome death. "I'm at peace with it," he said. "I'm ready to go. I'm tired of living in a cage like an animal and being treated like an animal. "What better way to go than being put to sleep, rather than suffering the rest of your life."

He said his earlier stint in prison made him a convenient target when Wilson County authorities were looking to find who was responsible for the four slayings. "When they found out I had a TDC record for attempted murder, they started piling up the evidence to back up their claim," Bagwell said. "I think the death penalty for someone like him is the only way," Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt said this week. "He deserves what he gets."

Bagwell's collection of tattoos included one on his left arm that spelled out in big letters: "MOM." He said Wednesday he was nowhere near the murder scene and last saw his mother about three days before the Sept. 20, 1995, slayings.

Bagwell's girlfriend testified at his trial that she and Bagwell had smoked crack cocaine in San Antonio, then drove to his mother's place so he could borrow some money. The witness, Victoria Wolford, said Bagwell became enraged when his mother only gave him $20. She said she watched through a window from a travel trailer on the property as he hit McBee in the head, then heard screams and other loud sounds.

"I'm just glad it's all over with," Monica Boone, whose daughter, Tassy, was among the victims, said after watching Bagwell die. "Everybody that's been touched by this madman can rest in peace and I thank God it's finally over." "I'm hoping and praying this is the end of a chapter in my life," said Gregory Knowles, whose daughter, Libby, also was killed. "There's no joy in watching somebody die."

Friends of Dennis Bagwell

Bagwell v. State, 956 S.W.2d 709 (Tex.Cr.App. 1997). (Direct Appeal)

Defendant was convicted in the 25th Judicial District Court, Guadalupe County, Dwight E. Peschel , J., of capital murder committed during the course of a robbery, and defendant appealed. The Court of Appeals, Hardberger, C.J., held that presence of defendant's palm and finger prints in restricted area where murder victim was found was sufficient evidence to corroborate accomplice testimony. Affirmed.

HARDBERGER, Chief Justice.
Dennis Wayne Bagwell, appellant, was tried, convicted, and sentenced for capital murder in Guadalupe County. A jury found that Bagwell had killed George Barry during the course of a robbery, by stomping on his face and neck. The State waived the death penalty, and the jury sentenced Bagwell to life imprisonment. In one point of error, Bagwell asserts that there is no evidence to corroborate the accomplice testimony used against Bagwell at trial. We affirm the judgment.

On September 5, 1995, a delivery person found the body of George Barry in the supply room of a local bar, Jim's Place, in Seguin, where Barry worked as a night stocker. Police arrived on the scene shortly after the discovery, and they took photographs of the body and the supply store, and dusted for fingerprints. At some point in the investigation, Bagwell became a suspect, and trial followed. By far the most incriminating evidence presented at trial was that of Bagwell's lover, Vicki Wolford, who testified after being promised immunity from prosecution by the State.

Wolford testified that on the evening of September 4, she and Bagwell met Donnie Halm, the owner of Jim's Place, at a rest stop on Highway 123. There, Bagwell sold Halm a television, stereo, and VCR, all of which belonged to a local rent-to-own store. Halm paid $200 for the equipment. Bagwell and Wolford took the money from this sale and went to the home of Anthony Jackson, where they bought some rock cocaine for $150. The pair took the cocaine to the trailer they shared, where they smoked it, and Vicki prepared for bed. At this point, Wolford testified, Bagwell wanted to return to Seguin for more drugs--this time, marijuana. Wolford dressed, and they drove to Jim's Place. Bagwell drove around the bar a couple of times, telling Wolford he was looking for an employee, Robin Whitman, who Bagwell thought would sell him some marijuana.

Bagwell had been to Jim's Place several times, had sold or tried to sell items to employees there, and knew all the employees by name. When Bagwell didn't see Whitman, he stopped the car and went into the bar. He came back shortly and asked Wolford for a quarter. He had not found Robin and wanted to call his home. At that point, he told Wolford that he planned to rob and kill George Barry, who was in the restaurant, stocking beer for the next day. It was also Barry's job to make the night deposit for the bar. Bagwell returned to the restaurant. Wolford remained in the car. She testified that, while Bagwell was in the bar, she could hear pounding and thumping noises. Bagwell returned twenty to twenty-five minutes later, with three money bags and an injured finger. The two drove out of Seguin, stopping to move the money from the bags to Bagwell's pockets. They then headed for Jackson's, where they purchased more rock cocaine. On the drive from Jackson's to their trailer, Bagwell told Wolford that he had killed Barry by smashing his throat in with his foot. Wolford testified that Bagwell was wearing black, heavy boots the night of the murder. The next morning, the two left Seguin for San Antonio.

Very little other inculpatory evidence was presented at trial. An expert on fingerprints testified that one of Bagwell's fingerprints and one of his palm prints were found on the file cabinet near Barry's body, where the deposit money was kept. An expert on "pattern injuries" testified that he could not rule out the possibility that Bagwell's shoes had caused the injuries to Barry's face and neck. A San Antonio police officer testified to finding one cloth bank bag, with the words "First Commercial" on it, in the room Wolford and Bagwell shared in San Antonio. Bar employees testified that this bag was "similar" to those used by Jim's Place. Finally, several witnesses testified that Bagwell had given inconsistent stories about how he had hurt his hand, saying at times that he had hit a black man, that he had hit a black man and robbed him, or that he had smashed his hand down on the roof of an automobile. The defense presented no witnesses.

* * * *

Bagwell v. Dretke, 372 F.3d 748 (5th Cir. 2004) (Federal Habeas)

Background: State prisoner petitioned for federal habeas relief. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Orlando L. Garcia entered order denying petition for federal habeas corpus relief and declined to enter certificate of appealability (COA) on any of petitioner's claims, whereupon petitioner applied for COA from the appellate court.

Holdings: The Court of Appeals, Edith H. Jones, Circuit Judge, held that:
(1) petitioner failed to make substantial showing that use of leg restraints during trial violated his constitutional due process rights, and was not entitled to certificate of appealability (COA) on issue; and
(2) district court's procedural default ruling was not debatable, and no certificate of appealability (COA) would be issued on defaulted issue. Application denied.

EDITH H. JONES, Circuit Judge:
In 1996, a Texas jury convicted and sentenced to death Dennis Wayne Bagwell for the exceedingly brutal murders of his mother, half-sister, four-year-old niece, and another young woman. After direct appeal and petition for state habeas corpus were unsuccessful, Bagwell raised seventeen grounds for relief in a § 2254 petition before the federal district court. The district court rejected all of the claims, dismissed Bagwell's petition, and declined to grant a certificate of appealability ("COA") on any issue raised.

Bagwell seeks a COA from this court on two issues: (1) whether he was denied due process and the presumption of innocence as a result of being shackled in the courtroom throughout the trial, and (2) whether trial counsel coerced him into waiving his right to testify in violation of his Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights to a fair trial. For the reasons set forth below, we deny a COA on both claims.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 21, 1995, Bagwell was indicted for the capital murders of Leona McBee, Libby Best, Reba Best, and Tassy Boone. [FN1] Before trial, the prosecution moved to have Bagwell restrained while in the courtroom. At this hearing, Wilson County Deputy Sheriff Johnny Deagan testified that: (1) Bagwell had made numerous threats against law enforcement personnel during his pretrial detention; (2) unidentified members of the victims' families had threatened Bagwell; and (3) restraining Bagwell through the use of a leg brace would aid court security personnel in the event Bagwell needed to be removed from the courtroom and would reduce Bagwell's ability to retaliate against anyone who attacked him. Calvin Pundt, an investigator for the Wilson County Sheriff's Department, testified Bagwell threatened several law enforcement personnel, vowing to "take one of you out before we hit the floor." While Bagwell had not physically assaulted anyone during his pretrial detention, the defense did not rebut the testimony concerning Bagwell's threats against law enforcement.

FN1. Ron Boone, Leona McBee's common-law husband, discovered the victims' bodies. Bagwell was related to three of the four victims. Leona McBee was Bagwell's mother, Libby Best was his half-sister, and Reba Best was Leona's four-year-old granddaughter. Tassy Boone was the teenage granddaughter of Ron Boone. Under Texas law, murdering more than one person during the same criminal transaction is a capital offense. See Tex. Pen.Code § 19.03(a)(7) (Vernon 2003).

The state trial court granted the motion and directed that (a) the leg restraints must be worn beneath Bagwell's clothing, *752 (b) Bagwell must not be shown to the jury or any prospective juror in any restraint, and (c) Bagwell's legs must be concealed while he was seated in the courtroom. Bagwell did not object to the leg restraints throughout the pendency of the trial or on direct appeal.

At trial, the state offered several witnesses, including Victoria Wolford, Bagwell's girlfriend, who testified that she was with Bagwell when he committed the gruesome murders, and she had led police to various locations along the getaway route where Bagwell had discarded incriminating evidence. Law enforcement officers and scientific experts linked significant physical evidence from the murders to Bagwell. [FN2] The defense countered with witnesses of their own. [FN3] However, Bagwell did not testify. According to Bagwell, trial counsel concluded that his testimony would unduly risk the introduction of Bagwell's extensive criminal history.

FN2. Specifically, law enforcement officers testified that they recovered, based on information Wolford provided, numerous items taken from the Boone residence, including a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of shorts. An expert witness testified that one of the tennis shoes matched a bloody shoe print found at the crime scene under the body of Tassy Boone. Other witnesses testified that the tennis shoes in question belonged to Bagwell. Furthermore, a firearms expert testified that the bullet fragments removed from Libby Best's cranium matched the shattered rifle the law enforcement officers recovered.

FN3. The defense's psychiatric expert testified that cocaine ingestion can raise a person's energy level, increase aggressiveness, lead to manic episodes involving hyperactivity and unclear thought, and cause psychotic, paranoid behavior. Other witnesses testified to Bagwell's depressed and upset demeanor in the days following the murders. Further, in their effort to suggest that Monica Boone, Tassy Boone's mother, committed the crime, the defense offered evidence to show that Monica and Tassy had a difficult relationship, that Monica physically abused Tassy, and, on the night of the murders, a woman who bore a resemblance to Monica appeared at a bar near the crime scene intoxicated and mumbling about having lost her hammer. On rebuttal, the state called Monica Boone to establish that she had been in California at the time of the murders. The state also presented testimony to establish that law enforcement officers had identified the woman at the bar, determined that she was not Monica Boone, and ruled the woman out as a suspect.

After deliberating for three hours, the jury returned a guilty verdict. The case then proceeded to the punishment phase. The state presented, inter alia, evidence and testimony concerning Bagwell's past convictions, his violence during pretrial detention, his bad disciplinary record during previous incarcerations, and his parole records. The defense offered five witnesses, including Bagwell's ex-wife and former parole officer, who each testified that Bagwell should receive a sentence of life imprisonment rather than the death penalty. Bagwell did not testify during the penalty phase. After a four-hour deliberation, the jury sentenced Bagwell to death.

Bagwell appealed both his conviction and sentence of death to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Bagwell v. State, No. 72,699 (Tex.Crim.App. March 31, 1999). The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Bagwell's conviction in all respects. Bagwell then filed a state habeas application in the trial court. Based on the trial court's findings of facts and conclusions of law, and its own review, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied habeas relief. Ex Parte Bagwell, No. 42,341-01 (Tex.Crim.App. September 29, 1999) (unpublished). Bagwell then filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the federal district court. The district court rejected Bagwell's seventeen assignments of error and declined to grant Bagwell's request for a COA. Bagwell v. Cockrell, No. SA-99-1133-OG, 2003 WL 22723006 (W.D.Tex. August 19, 2003). Thereafter, Bagwell appealed the denial of the COA on two of his habeas claims to this court.

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