Court Blocks Triple Execution
"Shot Party" in Texas
Austin, TX | The State Supreme Court has issued a temporary injunction to halt plans for closed-circuit viewing of a rare triple execution on July 19.
An anonymous phone tip alerted Texas corrections officials that computer hackers planned to pirate a cable feed intended only for family members and authorized witnesses.
The executions then were to have been shown on big-screen televisions at an Austin tavern.
Although Texas leads the nation in capital punishment executions, it is unusual for three to take place on the same day. But the back log created by recent budget cuts have forced a new policy of "piggy-backing."
A prison spokesman remarked he was appalled at the idea of using the event as an excuse to bar-hop. "If they want to turn this into a media circus," he said, "let them come here to the prison grounds like everyone else."
