The Price of a Punch

April 21, 2007 — -- For most of his life, Billy Ray Johnson, a 42-year-old mentally challenged man who loved to dance and always wore a smile, could be found hanging out by the old courthouse on the square in the East Texas town of Linden.

That was before he was beaten and left for dead in a ditch by four white men who were half his age. The assault damaged Johnson's brain, but his attackers were given a slap on the wrist -- 60 days behind bars for one; 30 days for the others.

On April 20th, after four years and two criminal trials, Johnson finally got justice. After deliberating for 3½ hours in the old Linden courthouse, a jury of 12 awarded Billy Ray Johnson the biggest verdict the town had ever seen: $3 million for his past and future medical care, and $6 million for pain and suffering.

"I think this jury told us that whether you are rich, poor, black or white … handicapped or not … you stand equal in the face of the law," said Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, who represented Johnson pro-bono in the civil trial.

Those who knew Johnson before the attack describe a gentle soul with a weak mind.

"Billy Ray was a loving, caring person. He was a happy person. He loved dancing, he loved imitating driving cars," said Lenda Beecham, Johnson's first cousin. "Billy Ray would do anything you asked him to do. Anything. He thought everybody loved him. That's why he would take the chance to go anywhere with anybody."

On Sept. 28, 2003, Johnson was waiting for a ride at the Country Store when 19-year-old Wes Owens invited him to a "pasture party" at his nearby farm, promising free beer. Johnson agreed to go -- but only after Owens promised to bring him back later.

What Johnson didn't know was that he was the evening's entertainment. His love of music, and dancing -- heartfelt to him -- was comical to others, and the young white men gathered around the bonfire that night wanted Johnson to dance. As the beer flowed, the night turned ugly.