Sirgiorgiro Clardy of Portland, Oregon, was convicted of assault and robbery following an incident in which a man failed to pay a prostitute under Clardy's control. He received a 100-year sentence. Now Clardy has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Nike.
Jurors early in 2013 found him guilty of second-degree assault for using his Jordans -- a dangerous weapon -- to beat the john's face to a pulp. The man required stitches and plastic surgery on his nose.
The jury also found him guilty of robbing the john and beating the 18-year-old woman he forced to work as his prostitute. She was injured so badly that she bled from her ears.
In his three-page complaint handwritten from the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, Clardy claims that Nike, Chairman Phil Knight and other executives failed to warn consumers that the shoes could be used as a weapon to cause serious injury or death.
On the surface, this seems silly. Shoes are shoes, and the manufacture will most likely not be deemed even partially responsible for the damage Clardy did when he stomped on the victim's face. But when you look closer, you can see a method to the madness.
In the past, Oregon defendants have been convicted of using a wide array of items or substances as dangerous weapons. The list includes boots, rope, a phone receiver, scalding hot water and HIV-infected blood. The "dangerous weapon" classification can spur longer prison sentences.
It appears that Clardy expects the lawsuit to be thrown out as frivolous, which would give him ammunition to appeal the "with a deadly weapon" portion of the charges. The Oregonian has more on the story. -via Uproxx
(Image credit: Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)