Opinion ID: 1184860
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant's presence in prison garb and manacles before the jury

Text: [8] Defendant contends that the court committed prejudicial error by permitting him to appear before the jury in prison garb and in chains. The record does not disclose clearly whether the entire jury saw defendant thus manacled, but, even viewing the evidence most favorably to defendant, we cannot find such restraint unwarranted or prejudicial. Apparently, on the first day of trial, defendant was brought into the courtroom and taken from it at the noon recess in manacles, in view of some members of the jury panel filing in or out of the courtroom. Defendant argues that this action created the inference in the mind of the jury that defendant was a dangerous man. No evidence establishes that any member of the panel finally selected for the jury actually saw defendant in chains. Moreover, the evidence does show that defendant had resisted being brought into court that day, that he refused to dress for court, and that he had to be taken bodily from the prison to the court. The officers therefore did no more than reasonably perform their duty in taking added security precautions, including the use of manacles.