An appeals court in Texas has overturned the conviction of a man due to the fact that the sentencing judge repeatedly administered electrical shocks to the defendant while he was appearing in court. Ring of Fire’s Mike Papantonio and Peter Mougey discuss this.
Transcript:
Mike Papantonio: An Appeals Court in Texas has overturned the conviction of a man due to the fact that the sentencing judge repeatedly administered electric shocks to the defendant with a collar, shock collar, that they had on him. Actually it’s around his waist. But this was happening while the defendant was appearing in court. Now, to set this story up just a little bit, understand, judge is talking to the defendant. Defendant is apparently pretty scary guy, his own lawyer said, “The guy freaked me out. I didn’t know what he was gonna do, he was acting crazy. I was concerned that he was gonna take a television set, which was near him and use that as a weapon.” So the point being, the guy’s obviously out of control, but explain how far the judge went with 50,000 volts, by the way.
Peter Mougey: Yeah, this isn’t just a little shock, this is a belt that goes around your waist and it’s disturbing that three times he hit him. And the transcript from the court, the guy says, “I have a mental illness” and the judge says, “Hit him again.” Shocks him three times with this belt. Now I tell you, I’ve got a dog at home that barks incessantly, and I went to get him one of those shock collars and I decided not to use it, ’cause I thought, “This isn’t right.” Here we have somebody sitting in court, no matter what kind of animal he is, we don’t shock people, only in Texas.
Mike Papantonio: Well …
Peter Mougey: But you don’t shock people. I mean it’s …
Mike Papantonio: We weren’t there, okay. We weren’t there. But as I read this story …
Peter Mougey: The transcript says a lot.
Mike Papantonio: The transcript says a lot.
Peter Mougey: “I have a history of mental illness.” “Hit him again” the judge says.
Mike Papantonio: Yes. The guy’s in open court. He says, “Judge, I have a history of mental illness” and they hit him with 50,000 volts.
Peter Mougey: For the third time.
Mike Papantonio: The defense lawyer’s standing there saying, “I’m freaked out by this.”
Peter Mougey: He doesn’t even object.
Mike Papantonio: Well, look, they’re running 50,000 volts through his body, you think he’s gonna act a little unusual.
Peter Mougey: Well, the defense lawyer’s name was Billy Ray, so only in Texas do you have a defense lawyer, Billy Ray, he doesn’t object to his own client getting shocked until …
Mike Papantonio: Yeah. Well part of the transcript. This is the transcript. This is the defendant, “Judge, I have a law suit pending against you.” “Deputy, hit him with a shock.” So the deputy hits him with 50,000 volts. Well, the end of the story is exactly what you would think. The guy gets a new trial. I mean, you can’t stand there and jolt 50,000 volts … What is it? Am I overstating that number? It’s 50 …
Peter Mougey: It was …
Mike Papantonio: No, it’s 50,000 volts, running through his body in little increments. Not enough to kill him, but enough to get his attention. So the Appellate Court said, “Look, the guy has a right to be in trial. He has a right to be there while he is being accused of whatever. He has a right to defend himself.” And so those constitutional rights were taken away when you shocked him like a dog to the point where he couldn’t even think …
Peter Mougey: I wouldn’t do that to my dog. I mean, and the call from the Appellate Court, “a stun belt is a device meant to ensure physical safety. It is not an operant conditioning collar meant to punish a defendant until he obeys the judge’s whim.”
Mike Papantonio: No …
Peter Mougey: Only in Texas.
Mike Papantonio: Looking back, if they call it the stun belt and it delivers a 50,000 volt shock. So the judge, he might have had some fun shocking this guy, he might hate … The guy was there on child abuse, he was apparently a serial child abuser. And no doubt the judge …
Peter Mougey: Not a good guy.
Mike Papantonio: Not a good guy.
Peter Mougey: But we don’t shock …
Mike Papantonio: His defense lawyer’s saying, “The guy is freaking me out because he’s acting so crazy.” The judge says, “Hey, I can fix that” and zaps him.
