On Sept. 11, Oklahoma County Jail staff found 48-year-old John Basco unresponsive in his cell. As reported by USA Today, the incarcerated man was found at about 3:50 a.m. and pronounced dead around 4:06 a.m. Basco was in the facility due to a drug trafficking complaint on Sept. 8.
In 2020, Basco was the plaintiff in a lawsuit against Oklahoma County, where he alleged that, as a form of psychological torture, he, along with three other incarcerated people, were forced to listen to the viral children’s song, “Baby Shark,” loudly on repeat for extended periods, while standing with their hands cuffed to a wall behind them. Basco alleged that he and the other incarcerated people would individually be taken to empty visitation rooms at 3 a.m., where this form of punishment took place at least five times in November-December 2019.
The case gained national attention and, as previously reported by Blavity, former jail employees Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles were charged with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy for enforcing the torture, ABC News reports. Lieutenant Christopher Raymond Hendershott received the same charges for knowing about the crime and failing to take action.
Surveillance video showed that the incarcerated individuals were held in the room for as long as two hours.
According to LAD Bible, documents from the case stated that Miles and Butler believed playing the children’s song was a “joke.”
The detention officers were suspended immediately and they’ve since resigned following an internal investigation. The lieutenant retired.
In July, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Friot paused another federal lawsuit from the imprisoned against county commissioners and the current Sheriff Tommie Johnson III until the criminal case is completed. The next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22.
The mysterious death of one of the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit seems to be pretty convenient for the defendants.
Basco’s attorney, Cameron Spradling, told The Oklahoman that the circumstances surrounding Basco’s death were “disturbing.” He also called for the preservation of all evidence as the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation probe continues.
“I’m really bothered by this,” Spradling said. “One of the ‘Baby Shark’ victims is conveniently dead within three days of his arrival at the jail. How does that happen? District Attorney David Prater just lost one of his witnesses for the upcoming criminal trial. For me, this one does not pass the smell test.”
A spokesperson for the Oklahoma County Jail suggested that Basco’s death might have been caused by a drug overdose, The Oklahoman reports.
The facility has been under fire already this year. As the New York Post reports, Basco’s death is the 14th this year at the jail, which has faced criticism over deaths of incarcerated people, escapes and additional incidents.
Although the video was meant to cheer up or even distract children, Baby Shark has been used in other sinister ways.
In 2019, ABC Action News reported that officials in West Palm Beach would play a continuous loop of children’s songs throughout the night to keep homeless people from sleeping in a city park.
