Tarrant County Judge Ordered 3 Electric Shocks to Get Defendant to ‘behave' During Trial

An appeals court has thrown out a Fort Worth man's 60-year prison sentence, ruling that a judge violated the man's rights by ordering him to be shocked by a stun belt when he didn't "behave" in the courtroom. Terry Lee Morris, 54, was convicted in June 2016 of soliciting sexual performance from a 15-year-old. The Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso tossed the conviction on Feb. 28 and ordered a new trial. Tarrant County Judge George Gallagher, who presided over Attorney General Ken Paxton's criminal case, told a bailiff to shock Morris three times when he didn't answer the judge as directed, according to court transcripts cited in the appeals court opinion. The shocks scared Morris so much that he was afraid to return to the courtroom, missing part of his trial.   Continue reading...