Judge Ordered Louisiana Man's Mouth Taped Shut In Court After Repeatedly Telling Him To 'Zip It'

In a startling courtroom incident that has sparked widespread controversy, a judge resorted to extreme measures to silence a disruptive defendant.

The judge ordered the defendant's mouth to be taped shut after he repeatedly ignored warnings to remain quiet. 

Judge John J. Russo was visibly displeased with Franklyn Williams when he encountered him in court, facing charges of burglary.

Williams was back in court for his second trial, alleging that his previous lawyer had failed to adequately inform him about the nature of the charges.

In his initial trial in 2016, he pleaded guilty to the robbery charges and received a 14-year prison sentence.

During his appearance before Judge Russo in an Ohio courtroom in 2018, Williams demonstrated a strong inclination to speak out and consistently disregarded requests to remain silent in the court.

As a last resort, Judge Russo made the decision to have the defendant's mouth covered with duct tape, effectively silencing him in the courtroom.

As the bailiffs approached, Williams received a stern warning: "If you spit on, attempt to bite or injure any of my deputies, you're gonna have a bad day." 

Despite his ongoing protests, Williams eventually acquiesced and allowed his mouth to be taped shut. However, his objections and protests persisted throughout the incident.

The peculiar incident was captured on camera and quickly garnered national attention, triggering a widespread debate about the justification behind Judge Russo's actions.

A subsequent judge assigned to Williams' case acknowledged that while the course of action taken by Judge Russo was not the ideal approach, it was not entirely uncommon in similar circumstances.

But ultimately, Judge Cosgrove focused on sentencing Williams rather than picking over the decisions made by Judge Russo: "We can not go back, only forward."

Williams was outraged by the taping incident: "I suffered the ultimate humiliation."

"I was treated like a dog about to be put to sleep."

Williams' lawyer also slammed the decision to tape his mouth closed: "When you see a defendant sitting in a courtroom with his mouth taped, your first impression is, ‘he must have killed someone'.

"He must have done something really, really horrible to be treated like an animal by someone who is supposed to represent justice and fairness."

In 2019, Williams received a 33-year prison sentence as his final verdict.

Judge Russo initially defended his actions, saying: "Everybody has the right to go on the record with my court reporter. But we can't do it at the same time or yelling over each other."

Judge Russo clarified that his intention was never to silence Williams but rather to provide him with an opportunity to speak at the appropriate moment during the proceedings.

However, he later issued an apology and said that the action had 'eroded the trust he had worked so diligently with others to build'.

“My decision to end your outburst came after I had exhausted every other attempt to restore order to a hearing you continuously impeded. Despite many warnings for you to stop your frequent and offensive outbursts, I believe it was over 60 interruptions in 54 minutes, you continued to interrupt and hinder the legal procedures of the court, procedures that are designed to protect your rights, the rights of your victims and the justice system.” 

Russo reportedly continued. “It escalated to the point that, as a judge, it was my responsibility to take control of the hearing.”

The Cleveland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) expressed their outrage through a tweet, criticizing the judge's lack of decency, “outraged by Judge Russo’s lack of decency when he ordered Franklyn Williams mouth duct taped.”

They added: “A dog owner that taped his pets mouth got 5 years. This is NOT ok.”

The footage also caught the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, with officials tweeting: “We cannot regard this as normal. It is humiliating. It doesn’t just deprive this person of the opportunity to speak before his life is taken away, it steals his dignity. Everything about this is wrong.”