Prison-court video hookup makes debut

CARSON CITY -- Paul Browning, on death row for the killing of a Las Vegas jeweler, has become the first prison inmate to participate in a video conference court hearing linking the state prison in Ely with the U.S. District Court in Reno.

The new televised system will cut costs of transporting inmates from Ely to Reno, a distance of more than 300 miles. It also reduces the risk of escape or violence during the trip.

Browning, through his lawyers on Tuesday, asked Senior U.S. District Judge Edward Reed for a preliminary injunction to stop the prison from reading his mail involving legal papers.

Deputy Attorney General Tom Wilson argued there are security reasons for the prison to read some of the mail.

Judge Reed Wednesday refused to grant the preliminary injunction sought by Browning who was sentenced to death for the November 1985 fatal stabbing of Hugo Elsen and for stealing jewelry from Elsen's business.

The Legislature authorized $125,000 for the state's cost and the federal government kicked in its share for the telecommunications system at the prisons in Ely and Carson City which tie them to the federal court.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said, "Video conferencing allows observation and communication by the judge, the inmate, the state attorney, inmate witnesses and officer witnesses. In this way, technology has been used to save transportation and personnel costs, as well as protect the safety of the public."

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