Senator Rand Paul awarded $580000 after being assaulted last year

Senator Rand Paul. The Hill

Senator Rand Paul has been awarded $580,000 in damages after an incident last year where he was severely injured in an attack by his neighbor. The Hill. Paul was attacked in a dispute over his lawn and had several ribs injured. Paul had to have hernia surgery to repair the damage done by the attack. The award gave Paul $375,000 in punitive damages, $200,000 for pain and suffering and $7,834 for medical expenses. Rene Boucher, who attacked Paul, will appeal the descion. 

This lawsuit wasn’t about me. It was about all of us and what we find acceptable as a society. We need to send a clear message that violence is not the answer - anytime, anywhere.

We can hold different views, whether it’s politics, religion or day to day matters.

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 30, 2019

 My Comment:
Just a quick update to the Rand Paul story. Paul almost died in this attack and I always thought that Rene Boucher got off easy for what he did to Paul. His conviction resulted in a sentence of 30 days, which was an absolute joke. Though he was convicted of a felony, having to spend only a month in jail was a slap in the face. His attack on Rand Paul could have very easily killed him.

A half a million dollar judgement against him seems pretty fair. Paul probably doesn't need the money, but he does deserve some justice for what happened to him. Indeed, he probably deserves more as, once again, he almost died. Half a million probably doesn't make up for the injuries he received but it is something.

I do wonder if Rene Boucher can pay though. He is probably moderatly wealthy but his lawyer fees and prison time could have ate into his funds. That being said, the money is less important to Paul than the message this judgement says. If you attack someone over politics and lawn care you deserve to pay a massive amount of money...

With the culture war in high gear I worry there might be more attacks like this. There was of course the shooting of Steve Scalise, an event where Rand Paul also almost died, and there were several attacks on GOP candidates in the run up to the 2018 midterms. This tells me the trend isn't over and I think it's just a matter of time before someone gets killed...