How does a man become a millionaire after a lawsuit settlement, yet still remain locked away in a nursing home with the state paying his bills and refusing to release him?
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by Leroy Moore I should be happy for Billy Ray Johnson, a Black disabled man of Linden, Texas, who received a little bite of justice recently for an attack he suffered in 2003 at the hands of a group of White men. Although I am happy, I’m not completely satisfied. The group of attackers were acquitted of serious felony charges and instead handed down lesser convictions with a recommended sentence of probation and on top of that many White residents went on record saying it wasn’t a hate crime and blamed Billy Ray Johnson for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. After almost seven years, Johnson finally got some justice from a lawsuit that was brought against his attackers by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The jury, which had only one Black man on it, and the judge awarded Johnson nine million dollars for his medical bills and for past and future physical pain, mental aguish and physical impairment. But I still don’t understand why Johnson still remains in a nursing home while the state pays for it using his money! A trust fund was created for his living and medical bills and the nine million will cover his needs for the rest of his live. According to news reports, Johnson was living with his mother and family before the attack, so it seems completely senseless that he would stay locked up a home, costing more money and providing less support. Reports claim that because of his injuries, Johnson must remain in a nursing home. Of course I don’t know Johnson’s family and their ability to care for him or to hire live-in care attendants but I do wonder if he was wealthy with support if he would be in a nursing home. I wonder if James Byrd, another poor Black disabled man beaten in Texas in 1998, would be in a nursing home today if he had survived his attack. Bill Ray Johnson finally received long overdue justice in his case and I am extremely happy for him; however the question still remains about why he sits in a nursing home without his family. His winnings of nine million dollars can surely pay for a house and round the clock care. I only hope that after he recovers from his injuries physically that his lawyer and family will free him from the nursing home and he will have a solid supportive network around him! I have yet to find a website dedicated solely to Billy Ray Johnson’s case; however if you google his name you can find more information. Also check out the website of the Southern Poverty Law Center at www.splcenter.org |