Billy Ray Johnson was known around town as kindly and “slow”. So, it is unconscionable to take advantage of such a person but, that is precisely what happened in Linden, Texas , on a September night nearly four years ago.

Billy stumble upon an all-white party. He was given alcohol and became intoxicated. Later, a group of men from this party beat him and left him on a fire ant hill. Mr. Johnson suffered a concussion and bleeding on the brain. As a result of his injuries, he now lives in a nursing home.

The men where tried by an all-white jury which sentenced them to either probation or jail. The longest of term was 60 days.

The family of Mr. Johnson gain some measure of relief when a jury award a $9 million civil judgment to them against two defendants –James Cory Hicks and Christopher Colt Amox. The other two defendents, Chadwick Stone and John Wesley Owens, had already reached private settlements with the family.

When I first heard of this case a couple of years back, I felt that I was reading about a story from the 40’s or 50’s and was sickened by the slap on the wrist these people (and I use the term loosely) received for such a heinous crime. Today, I am at least mildly heartened to see these so-called men be held to some level of accountability for their criminal act.

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