It seems violence towards members of our community doesn't always come from the outside. We can be just as vengeful in attacking our own as any skinhead or homophobe. Just ask Toni Brown who is now paralyzed from the neck down - the victim of a gunshot from her ex-lover, Raina L. Johson. Johnson was finally sentenced for the crime earlier this week. During the course of their relationshiop, Brown often was the victim of domestic violence. Unbeknownst to her, her partner Johnson had a history of domestic violence with male and female exes. She was previously ordered by a Superiour Court judge to attend a program that would address her streak of violence. However, her lack of attendance caused her to be expelled from the program.
When the relationship neared it's end, Brown decided to pack her bags and leave Johnson. She did seek and obtain a civil protection order against Johnson. Police had to be summoned in order for Brown to successfully get all of her items from the apartment they shared.
Then five months ago, Johnson showed up outside Brown's job and shot her. The bullet severed her spine and left her paralyzed. Johnson then fleed the scene, leaving Brown for dead. Johnson appeared in court for sentencing March 6. Judge Harold L. Cushenberry Jr. of the D.C. Superior Court called the shooting an "extraordinarily brutal, callous and despicable crime" and considered the crime an intended execution. Johnson has received a 28-year prison term on a charge of assault with intent to kill.
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