A federal court ruled an intellectually disabled Black man is entitled to more than $500,000 in restitution from a white man who forced him to work 100 hours a week without pay for five years.
The United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ruled John Christopher Smith is owed $546,000 in unpaid wages from Bobby Paul Edwards, the former manager of J&J Cafeteria in Conway, South Carolina, according to The Post and Courier.
Edwards is serving 10 years in prison for his enslavement of Smith from 2009 to 2014. Smith worked at J&J since he was 12, but he worked under Edward’s relative until 2009 when Edwards took over the business. People Magazine reported a judge recently noted Smith “has an intellectual disability and an IQ of 70.”
After the transfer of power, Smith stopped being paid, and Edwards began to abuse him physically and mentally.
“The defendant subjected the victim to physical and emotional abuse whenever the victim made a mistake or failed to work fast enough,” according to a 2019 press release from the Department of Justice.
“The defendant beat the victim with a belt, fists, and pots and pans. On one occasion, he dipped metal tongs into hot grease and burned the victim’s neck. The defendant further yelled at the victim and used racial slurs to belittle and demean him.”
Smith was freed from his captivity after a concerned citizen reported the mistreatment to state authorities.
Edwards was arrested and charged with one count of forced labor. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $272,952.96 in restitution in 2019.
On April 21, the appellate court challenged the initial amount and ruled the district court “had erred” because it did not account for the delay in payment under federal labor laws.
″(W)hen an employer fails to pay those amounts (regular and overtime pay), the employee suffers losses, which includes the loss of the use of that money during the period of delay,” the ruling stated.
Smith deserves every single penny.
