US judge uses shocks to punish defendant

A US appeals court has ordered a new trial for a man whom a judge, impatient with the defendant's disruptions, ordered to be jolted several times with 50,000 volts from a shock belt.

The 8th Texas Court of Appeals in El Paso ordered the new trial for Terry Lee Morris, who was convicted in 2014 of soliciting a sexual performance from an underage girl.

The court ruled on February 28 that state District Judge George Gallagher of Tarrant County violated Morris' civil rights when he ordered a bailiff, on three occasions, to shock Morris as punishment for not giving proper answers to Gallagher's questions.

Shock belts are placed on defendants' legs but the appeals court said they were to be used only if a defendant became violent, not to enforce decorum.