Best Headline Ever
May. 6th, 2004 04:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geminigirlPOSTED: 2:59 p.m. EDT May 5, 2004
UPDATED: 3:06 p.m. EDT May 5, 2004
BEAUMONT, Texas -- Apparently, shock belts some prisoners have to wear in court can be disabled.
A security officer at a Texas courthouse says a defendant was able to attack a witness after disabling the device by stuffing a ham sandwich into it.
The man was on trial in Beaumont for aggravated robbery. He attacked a woman on Tuesday as she left the witness stand.
When the judge tried to trigger the belt, it didn't work.
The woman suffered minor injuries before the defendant was subdued. Jurors later returned a guilty verdict.
The court security officer testified Wednesday in the penalty phase. He said his investigation found that the man had inserted the sandwich between a battery and a belt electrode during a lunch break.
Authorities say the defendant was wearing the belt because of concerns he might turn violent.
