No Media Witness To Texas Execution

Houston (WBAP/KLIF) – An investigation has determined that new personnel and procedures along with insufficient oversight led to reporters not witnessing the May 19 execution of condemned killer Quintin Jones. That was the state’s first execution in nearly a year. Each of the 570 executions that have been held since they resumed in 1982 has been witnessed by at least one representative of the media. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says confusion related to a new policy that allows an inmate’s spiritual adviser in the death chamber, combined with new members on the execution team lead to mistakes that resulted in no media witnessing Jones’ execution. The Department says it’s taken steps to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Texas’ next execution is scheduled for Wednesday.