WASHINGTON — Two former Oklahoma County jail officers were sentenced Thursday on cruelty charges for punishing inmates by playing "Baby Shark" on repeat.
Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor cruelty charge and were put on probation for two years, according to the Oklahoman.
Both Butler, 24, and Miles, 23, were ordered to pay $300 in compensation to the victims and complete 40 hours of community service. On top of $200 fine, the former jail guards were banned from working in law enforcement, the Oklahoman reports.
Special Judge Martha Oakes issued the sentences.
The sentencing was a result of an investigation that found handcuffed inmates were forced to stand for hours while chained to a wall as discipline in 2019, according to the outlet.
Four inmates filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2021 accusing Miles and Butler of using "excessive force" and discipline tactics described as "torture events," according to NBC News.
The lawsuit gave several accounts of inmates "standing in a stressed position" for hours while being handcuffed. Officers followed up by playing "Baby Shark" on repeat so loud "that it was reverberating down the halls," the suit described.
John Basco, who was among one of the four inmates, died of a fentanyl overdose while in jail in September 2022.
Butler's attorney told NBC News that the former jail guard is "happy this matter is behind him." Both Butler and Miles' probation sentence will leave them with no conviction on their records if they don't get into more trouble, according to the Oklahoman.
A lieutenant at the jail was also named in the lawsuit for allegedly failing to intervene after learning about the discipline. Christopher Raymond Hendershott retired shortly after being investigated and was charged with four cruelty counts and a conspiracy count, the Oklahoman reports.
A judge struck down the inmates' federal lawsuit, but an appeal is expected, according to the Oklahoman.
