Texas Judge Electrocutes Accused Pedophile During Court Testimony

Michael M. 3 weeks ago

A convicted pedophile has had his conviction for child sex offenses overturned because the judge ruling over his case ordered that he be repeatedly electrocuted for not answering questions. Terry Lee Morris, 54, was convicted of soliciting a sex act from a 15-year-old girl and sentenced to 60 years in jail in 2014. During his trial, a court heard how District Judge George Gallagher had ordered the defendant to be jolted with 50,000 volts from a shock belt on three occasions. Shock belts, which are used in courtrooms such as the one Tarrant County in Texas where Morris’ trial was being held, are placed on the defendant’s legs. They are only meant to be used the suspect becomes violent during proceedings.

The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals has now ruled that Morris’ constitutional rights were violated after Gallagher ordered him to be electrocuted and then removed from the court because he refused to answer questions. “While the trial court’s frustration with an obstreperous defendant is understandable, the judge’s disproportionate response is not. We do not believe that trial judges can use stun belts to enforce decorum,” appeals court Justice Yvonne Rodriguez said in her ruling, reports the Star Telegram.

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Tarrant County judge used electric shocks to punish sex offender, who is getting a new trial

BY JEFF CAPLAN AND MITCH MITCHELL

jeffcaplan@star-telegram.com

mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com

March 07, 2018 12:00 PM

Updated March 09, 2018 10:07 PM

FORT WORTH -- State District Judge George Gallagher of Tarrant County told a bailiff on three occasions to punish an uncooperative defendant with electric shocks, and now the sex offender's conviction has been overturned and a new trial ordered.

Stun belts can be strapped around the legs of some defendants and used to deliver thousands of volts of electric shock in the instance a defendant turns violent or attempts to escape the courtroom. However, in the case of Terry Lee Morris, who was convicted in 2014 of charges of soliciting sexual performance from a 15-year-old girl, an appeals court found that Gallagher used electric shocks as punishment after Morris failed to answer the judge's questions properly.

Gallagher, the District 396 judge since 2000, declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman with the Tarrant County district attorney's office.

After enduring the 50,000-volt shocks, Morris was apparently too scared to return to the courtroom and actually did not attend the remainder of his own trial. He appealed his conviction, alleging Gallagher violated his constitutional rights by repeatedly shocking him for failing to answer questions while showing no signs of becoming violent or being a flight risk.
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Jeff Caplan is an enterprise reporter for the Star-Telegram. Reach him at 817-390-7705 or on Twitter @Jeff_Caplan