Two former county jail guards based in Oklahoma were sentenced after forcing inmates to listen to childrenâs Music as punishment.
In 2019, Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles were criminally charged after an investigation revealed that they forced handcuffed inmates âto stand for long periods of timeâ while they were âchained to a wall in the attorney visitation boothâ as a form of discipline.
The torture didnât end there. The two guards would also play childrenâs songs such as âBaby Sharkâ and âchildrenâs Music featuring Elmo,â loudly and on repeat, according to USA Today.
Four inmates were involved in the criminal case but investigators believed there were more.
One victim claimed that they had to listen to âBaby Sharkâ for âtwo hours straight,â according to an investigative report.
Another victim confirmed that âBaby Sharkâ was blasting and played âover and over and over againâ which the inmate referred to as âa weird little song.â
Butler Jr. and Miles admitted to playing âBaby Sharkâ as a form of discipline and claimed that it was a joke set up by the pair.
Following the investigation, both resigned and were charged with three counts of âmisdemeanor crueltyâ to which they pleaded no contest in 2020.
They were also âcharged with conspiracyâ but it was dropped by prosecutors.
During their sentencing, both Butler Jr. and Miles were ordered by Special Judge Martha Oakes âto pay $300 in victimsâ compensation and complete 40 hours of community service.â They were also prohibited from ever working in law enforcement again and were put on probation for two years and fined $200.
According to Milesâ attorney, Michael Johnson, he and other detention officers were just trying to âkeep orderâ in the jail âwith the lack of leadership going on at the time.â
âThese inmates were winning the war at the jail,â Johnson said.
He also claimed that the childrenâs songs were used âto calm inmates down.â
âItâs basically like a time-out,â Johnson added.
As far as Butler Jr. goes, his attorney, Lance Phillips, said he âis happy this matter is behind him.â
