The media, civil liberties groups and human rights organisations have reported several instances of inappropriate activation of body-worn electric shock devices during judicial proceedings in the United States of America.xviii For example, in July 2014 in Maryland, a judge ordered a shock device attached to a defendant’s ankle to be activated when the defendant, who was representing himself, verbally interrupted the judge. The defendant reportedly screamed out three times and fell to the ground when the 50,000- volt shock was administeredxix later stating that “It felt like fire went through my back,". xx In March 2016, the judge pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor civil rights violation for ordering this inappropriate activation. The court sentenced him to one year's probation, fined him $5,000 and ordered him to take anger management classes. Maryland's highest court also banned him from the bench for life.xxi 2.1.3. Projectile electric shock weapons Projectile electric shock weapons were developed for law enforcement officials to incapacitate an individual at a distance. Most models hold one or more cartridges which can fire two barbed darts attached by thin wires to the launch device, at an individual, from several metres. The darts attach to a person’s body or clothing, delivering an incapacitating high voltage electric shock that causes the subject to lose neuro-muscular control and collapse. Depending on the model, the shock can be continuous and prolonged (up to several minutes) if the trigger is held down, repeated numerous times if retriggered, or can be interrupted. Some projectile electric shock weapons are also equipped with “drive-stun mode”, which applies a localised electric shock by direct contact with the skin or clothing, without having to fire a cartridge. This causes intense pain only, not incapacitation. When deployed by highly trained police officers as a projectile in a stand-off situation to prevent an imminent threat of serious injury or death, such projectile electric shock weapons can be a legitimate alternative to firearms. Law enforcement officers authorized to use such weapons must abide by regional and international policing standards on the use of force and firearms, and should always be under a strict system of supervision and accountability so as to ensure that such standards are fully met. The UN Committee against Torture has recommended that “electrical discharge weapons are used exclusively in extreme and limited situations – where there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury – as a substitute for lethal weapons and by trained law enforcement personnel only”.xxii Furthermore the Committee recommends “establishing a high threshold for their use…expressly prohibiting their use on children and pregnant women…[and that such weapons]…should be inadmissible in the equipment of custodial staff in prisons or any other place of deprivation of liberty.”xxiii Recommendations:  States should prohibit the manufacture and trade of all direct contact electric shock weapons and body worn electric shock devices intended for law enforcement purposes. The use of all direct contact electric shock weapons and body worn electric shock devices by law enforcement officials should be prohibited and all existing stocks of such weapons and devices should be removed and destroyed.  States should stringently control the manufacture and trade of projectile electric shock projectile weapons specifically intended for law enforcement purposes. The use of such weapons by law enforcement officials should be consistent with regional and international human rights standards, specifically the UN Basic