A man accused of beating a Tulsa bar owner who later died is now a free man. A judge sentenced Terry Badgwell to 10 years in prison on Tuesday for first-degree manslaughter, but he suspended all but two
Tuesday, May 22nd 2007, 2:46 pm
By: News On 6
A man accused of beating a Tulsa bar owner who later died is now a free man. A judge sentenced Terry Badgwell to 10 years in prison on Tuesday for first-degree manslaughter, but he suspended all but two years and five months of the sentence. For that, he gave Badgwell credit for the time he's already served in jail.
In March, Badgwell pleaded no contest to first-degree manslaughter. He was accused of repeatedly hitting Deadtown Tavern owner Shawn Howard with a pipe in 2004. The district attorney initially declined to file charges, saying Badgwell acted in self-defense. But, Howard's family gathered enough signatures on a petition to get a grand jury formed and they approved charges.