Assaulted Wife Makes Unusual Request

Harriette Matthews was stabbed 10 times with a screwdriver by her estranged husband in an attack that left her partially paralyzed.

Yet she is asking a judge to spare Damon Matthews a prison term. Instead, Harriette Matthews wants him ordered to keep his job so his health insurance can pay her medical bills.

“It appears (no) one is really interested in my concerns,” she wrote to Judge David Mitchell.

“What Damon did was unjustifiable, but I need restitution and health benefits during my recovery, if I recover at all,” she wrote. According to court records, the attack last January left her paralyzed in her lower left leg.

After her request last week, Mitchell postponed sentencing until Jan. 15.

“Her comments took me aback,” the judge said. “He almost killed her. Now, the court has to make a very difficult decision regarding the wishes of the victim, the protection of society generally and the defendant’s desire to work.”