- REACT belt
The Remote Electronically Activated Control Technology belt is a restraining device that applies 50 kV to the muscles in the area of the
kidney s, pulsed over 8 seconds. It is a product ofStun Tech Incorporated ofCleveland, Ohio . In March 2000, Stun Tech became Electronic Defense Technology, LLC, which later became Stinger Systems, Inc.The REACT belt is no longer available from Stinger systems, having been replaced with a device which attaches to the arm or leg.
Introduced in the USA in the early '90s, by
1996 it was reportedly in use by theUS Bureau of Prisons , theUS Marshals' Service , and 16 state correctional agencies including those ofAlaska ,California ,Colorado ,Delaware ,Florida , Georgia,Kansas ,Ohio ,Virginia , andWashington . It is also used during judicial hearings (eg in1998 , against Ronald Hawkins in Los Angeles for frequently interrupting Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani at a sentencing hearing).In
1996 Amnesty International called on the USA to ban use and export of the machine, arguing that it is atorture device that is "in direct contravention of international standards on the treatment of prisoners".See here for more about the use of such devices.
External links
* [http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGAMR510541999 Cruelty in Control] summarises some of the suits against the device incl patent infringements
* Barry Yeoman, [http://www.barryyeoman.com/articles/shocking.html Shocking Discipline] , Mother Jones
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