Not Fair!

This is Michael Clay. He is a 59 yr old Eugene resident. On June 9th, he was walking home late at night, when 2 teen boys beat the crap out of him, for no apparent reason; not even to rob him.

The Register Guard states: "He said he never lost consciousness during the attack, which he said began when one of the youths rode up on a bicycle, flipped it around to block Clay’s path, and asked for a cigarette. Clay said he inserted a walking stick he uses because of a bad knee into the bike’s spokes to prevent the wheel from striking him, and told the teens that he didn’t have any cigarettes.
“If they’d have waited 30 seconds, they would have had a $1 cigar, because I did carry those,” he recounted. Instead, he felt the first of two blows from a baseball bat the other teen was carrying, and the youths hurried away."

That attack left Clay with brain and skull injury. He has several teeth that are 'wobbly' b/c of the injuries.

The 2 boys have been in jail since 3 days after the incident happened, thanks to Clay's neighbor's.

"He credits his neighbors with looking out for him since the attack — getting him to the hospital, getting word of the attack out on the street so a citizen’s tip could help police arrest the teens three days later."

The 2 boys, Alex Lee Swegle, 19, and Joseph Anthony George, 17, plead guilty last week to second degree assault charges. They received 70 months with early release based on good behavior as early for 14 months.

Michael Clay is THIS close to becoming homeless b/c he can't afford to pay his bills since his injuries while he's recuperating. The community has banded together to start a fund at the local community credit union and the boys were ordered to each pay half his medical bills.

SO- the question is: Was their punishment fit for the crime? They could possibly walk out of prison in a little over a year. Clay will still be dealing with the dizzy spells he get's due to his brain and skull injury in years to come. They could be free to roam in a little over a year. Michael Clay could possibly be homeless 14 months from now. His injuries are going to affect him for the rest of his life.

I think that their punishment is completely unfair. I think that they should be responsible for ALL his medical bills and also pay for his housing. I mean, if THEY didn't BEAT HIM, then HE WOULDN'T be in this situation! I mean, this man is deciding between what treatments he can get based upon the money that he doesn't have to pay for it! He more than likely will not get any repair work b/c he cannot afford it!

Clay said, "“I went to the optometrist and he said my (right) eye’s 20 degrees off to the side and 15 degrees down,” he said. “Everybody’s talking about all this reconstruction, but nobody’s doing it without getting paid. And the question is, do I spend that much money on myself at this point in my life?”

How fair is it that in a couple of years, these teens will be released and have the opportunity to live their lives with perfect sight, a strong jaw and no dizzy spells or brain damage.

I say, give 'em what they deserve. Take them down a dark alley and beat them up with baseball bats and then take them to jail and let them not got any proper treatments to heal themselves correctly and THAN live with that for the rest of THEIR lives!