A pair of Oklahoma City jail guards were sentenced on a misdemeanor cruelty charge for forcing inmates to listen to the song "Baby Shark" as a punishment, USA Today reported Tuesday.
The guards, Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles, pleaded no contest to the charge and were sentenced to two years of probation. They were also fined $200, and additionally ordered to pay $300 in victim's compensation and complete 40 hours of community service.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The charges stemmed from an investigation into Butler's and Miles' conduct in 2019. The investigation found that the guards allegedly chained prisoners to the wall and forced them to listen to "Baby Shark" on a loop at loud volumes for hours at a time, The Oklahoman reported in 2020.
The children's song has become infamous for its repetitive nature and irritating cadence. In 2018, it was described as "the year's most annoying song" by The Guardian and The Irish Times, among others.
In an affidavit obtained by The Oklahoman, the pair admitted that they had "systematically worked together and used the...[song] as a means to discipline inmates and teach them a lesson because they felt that disciplinary action within the Detention Center was not working in correcting the behavior of the inmates."
The case was built around four victims, USA Today noted, but investigators believed there were likely more. Butler and Miles were originally charged with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy. At the time, Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater said it was "unfortunate that I could not find a felony statute to fit this fact scenario."
"I would have preferred filing a felony on this behavior," Prater had told The Oklahoman.
-
In the Spotlight Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been at odds with US forces
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black KeysFeature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and WeaponsFeature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
