Two former county jail guards based in Oklahoma were sentenced after forcing inmates to listen to children’s 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 “to stand for long periods of time” while they were “chained to a wall in the attorney visitation booth” as a form of discipline.
The torture didn’t end there. The two guards would also play children’s songs such as “Baby Shark” and “children’s music featuring Elmo,” 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 “Baby Shark” for “two hours straight,” according to an investigative report.
Another victim confirmed that “Baby Shark” was blasting and played “over and over and over again” which the inmate referred to as “a weird little song.”
Butler Jr. and Miles admitted to playing “Baby Shark” 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 “misdemeanor cruelty” to which they pleaded no contest in 2020.
They were also “charged with conspiracy” but it was dropped by prosecutors.
During their sentencing, both Butler Jr. and Miles were ordered by Special Judge Martha Oakes “to pay $300 in victims’ compensation and complete 40 hours of community service.” They were also prohibited from ever working in law enforcement again and were put on probation for two years and fined $200.
According to Miles’ attorney, Michael Johnson, he and other detention officers were just trying to “keep order” in the jail “with the lack of leadership going on at the time.”
“These inmates were winning the war at the jail,” Johnson said.
He also claimed that the children’s songs were used “to calm inmates down.”
“It’s basically like a time-out,” Johnson added.
As far as Butler Jr. goes, his attorney, Lance Phillips, said he “is happy this matter is behind him.”