Texas to investigate after media witnesses forgotten during execution

May 20 (UPI) -- The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Thursday it's investigating after a "miscommunication" meant members of the media weren't called in to witness the execution of Quintin Jones, prompting outcry from activists and lawmakers.

Jones, 41, was put to death by legal injection Wednesday evening at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. He was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of his 83-year-old great-aunt, Berthena Bryant.

Shortly after Jones' death was confirmed Wednesday night, media outlets, including The Huntsville Item, reported that journalists weren't called to the Huntsville facility to witness the execution as is customary.

Jeremy Desel, director of communications for the TDCJ said the agency was investigating how the oversight happened to ensure it doesn't happen again.

"As a result of a miscommunication between officials at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, there was never a call made to the summon the media witnesses into the unit. We apologize for this critical error," he said in a statement to UPI.

Members of the Texas Legislature, criminal justice experts and anti-death penalty activists decried the lack of media witnesses at Jones' execution.

Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said the "failure" Wednesday night was a "poster child for the lack of transparency and accountability in the U.S. execution process."

"If the state with the most experience in executing prisoners lacks the competence to carry out this most basic execution function, what does that tells us about what else in the execution process states and the federal government can't be trusted to perform properly?" he questioned.

The DPIC -- which doesn't take a stance on capital punishment, but provides resources on the issue -- called for transparency.

"Letting media witnesses in to see an execution isn't hard. If a state can't get that right, there really isn't anything else in the process -- short of executing the wrong person -- that it can't get wrong," Dunham added.

State Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat, said blaming the incident on a "miscommunication" was "absolutely unacceptable."

"This execution has lowered us. It has made Texas worse, not better," he tweeted.

"There needs to be an immediate investigation in to what happened, why it happened and who is responsible," tweeted state Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican. "It was 'a mistake' and/or 'a miscommunication' is not acceptable. This is an unfathomable, colossal screw-up and we need answers."

The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty called it a "disturbing departure from the standard practice" and anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean called for all executions in Texas to be suspended amid an investigation.

"Permanently would be ideal," she tweeted.