Two former jailers say their names are finally cleared after five years of accusations.
Thursday, a jury decided that Dwayne Johnson and Bryan Doyle did not violate a detainee's 14th amendment rights.
John Franklin claimed that surveillance video showed the two corrections officers using excessive force, shocking him with a tazer 18 times and repeatedly punching him in the throat.
This happened when Franklin was arrested for public intoxication on December 1st, 2007.
"This was the single worst thing I ever seen," Bryan Doyle says describing the night he was confronted by John Franklin in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility.
Dwayne Johnson agreed with Doyle.
"I can't say I was more afraid of one person in my life," he said.
Franklin accused the two former jailers of violating his civil rights by using excessive force against him but Thursday a jury determined that Doyle and Johnson lived up to their duties as correctional officers.
They say it's been a long time coming.
"It's a night that has replayed in my head everyday since it happened. It made me second guess myself for a while. But every time I ask if I would do anything differently, nothing," Doyle said with confidence in his voice.
Now the two men and their attorney Mitch Templeton can breathe a little and laugh.
"It was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders. My family and friends who have been praying for us, I want to thank them," Johnson said.
The two men continue to look for good paying jobs. Johnson is currently a security guard, while Doyle is unemployed.
With the accusations behind them and the vindication they've been searching for, they can look to the future.
Both say that Thursday, there was a special presence in the courtroom.
"I continue to pray and hope God shows me the way," Johnson said.
"Today is the 6 month anniversary of me losing my dad. I kind of felt like I was being watched," Doyle said.
Doyle and Johnson's attorney Mitch Templeton says Thursday isn't just a win for his clients, he says it's a win for law enforcement, correctional officers, and the jury system.
Doyle says he is looking to start a career in Industrial Safety. Johnson wants to protect the city he grew up in as a Beaumont Police Officer.
Neither man believes he will look to return as Jefferson County Jailers.
