Pa. inmate dies in freak accident

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Jan 2, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/2/97

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HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 2 (UPI) - A Pennsylvania prison inmate was
found dead Thursday after a freak electrocution at the state prison in
Pittsburgh.

Officials said Laurence Baker was wearing homemade headphones
connected to his television when he sat on an stainless steel toilet in
his cell.

State police speculated that the water-filled metal commode completed
an electrical circuit from the TV, sending a lethal jolt through Baker's
body.

The state Corrections Department said Baker, 47, had served almost 14
years of life sentence for a murder conviction in Philadelphia.

A investigation by prison officials, state police and the Allegheny
County Coroner was under way. An autopsy was planned for later in the
day.

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UPI

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Jan 2, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/2/97

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(EDs: adding autopsy results, other details)
(UPI Focus)

Pa. inmate dies in freak accident

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 2 (UPI) - Authorities say a convicted killer
accidentally electrocuted himself Thursday at the state prison in
Pittsburgh.

Lawrence Baker was wearing homemade headphones connected to his
television when he sat on a stainless-steel toilet in his cell. The
water-filled commode completed an electrical circuit from the TV,
sending a lethal jolt through his body.

The Allegheny County Coroner ruled Baker's death accidental following
an autopsy.

The 47-year-old Baker originally was sentenced to die in the state's
electric chair for the 1979 murder of an insurance salesman in West
Philadelphia. But on appeal, the state Supreme Court reduced his
sentence to life behind bars in 1986.

Pennsylvania changed its method of execution to lethal injection in
1990.
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UPI

unread,

Jan 2, 1997, 3:00:00 AM1/2/97

to

(EDs: adding autopsy results, other details)
(UPI Focus)
Pa. inmate dies in freak accident

HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 2 (UPI) - Pennsylvania authorities say a

convicted killer accidentally electrocuted himself Thursday at the state
prison in Pittsburgh.

Lawrence Baker was wearing homemade headphones connected to his
television when he sat on a stainless-steel toilet in his cell. The
water-filled commode completed an electrical circuit from the TV,
sending a lethal jolt through his body.

The Allegheny County Coroner ruled Baker's death accidental following
an autopsy.

The 47-year-old Baker originally was sentenced to die in the state's
electric chair for the 1979 murder of an insurance salesman in West
Philadelphia. But on appeal, the state Supreme Court reduced his
sentence to life behind bars in 1986.

Pennsylvania changed its method of execution to lethal injection in
1990.
--

bc-us-prisondeath-1stld