the day before the killing, appellant and Victim argued over rent money. Two eyewitnesses, Jack Williams and Kelly Williams, testified they saw appellant hit Victim on the head several times with a blunt tool, lacerating Victim's scalp. Appellant was holding a gun in his other hand at the time. Victim was unarmed and simply tried to fend off the attack by covering his head.
The next day, Victim returned to the house to retrieve his belongings. Appellant's wife, Erlene Brown, testified that when Victim arrived, he went into the kitchen. Mrs. Brown went down the hall to the bedroom to get Victim's things. She saw her husband in the hallway with a billy club behind his back and she said to him, "Don't do anything, don't say anything. [Victim's]just come to get his clothes, you know, and he's leaving and I'm getting his clothes for him."
As Mrs. Brown came back down the hall, she heard scuffling in the kitchen. Appellant and Victim were fighting and appellant was hitting Victim with the billy club. Mrs. Brown tried unsuccessfully to separate the two men. She and her grandson, Billy, then fled the house. They heard two shots as they were getting in the car. Before driving off, Mrs. Brown saw appellant come out of the house with a gun in his hand. She testified, "I was afraid he might shoot us, too."
Appellant testified he was in his bedroom when Victim entered the house. He went down the hall to the kitchen and told Victim to leave. When appellant