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Ohio judge orders chatty defendant's mouth taped for sentencing
By Katherine Lam
Published August 01, 2018
An Ohio judge ordered a defendant’s mouth taped shut during his sentencing on Tuesday after the man failed to heed repeated warnings to stop talking.
The defendant, Franklyn Williams, was seen in court with red tape over his mouth after Cuyahoga County Judge John Russo got fed up with the 32-year-old’s interruptions, FOX8 reported.
Williams — who was convicted in December of aggravated robbery, kidnapping, theft, misuse of credit cards and having weapons under a disability — refused to stop talking and kept interrupting his attorneys for about 30 minutes during his sentencing.
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Russo ordered six deputies to tape Williams’ mouth shut — but even then Williams continued chiming in.
Williams was eventually sentenced to 24 years in prison.
The convicted felon previously attempted to evade his trial when he cut off his ankle bracelet during house arrest and fled to Nebraska. Williams claimed he had no recollection of the escape because he'd been hit over the head.
Prosecutors, however, had cellphone records as proof that Williams was not being honest.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/ohio-judge-orders-chatty-defendants-mouth-taped-for-sentencing