A prisoner on licence who repeatedly hit another over the head with a tyre iron, leaving him with a brain injury and in a coma, has been jailed.
Lewis Butterfield, who had been released months earlier, attacked the man during a chance meeting having previously fallen out with him.
It resulted in his victim being put into an induced coma, with a skull fracture, lacerations, a fractured eye socket and an accumulation of blood on the brain.
He has since recovered, but only by good fortune, said Recorder David Chidgey. He jailed Butterfield for more than seven years on Thursday.
The incident was described as a series of dominoes cascading, by Butterfield’s barrister, Nick Clough.
He explained there had been an earlier fistfight between the two parties, and that the victim had been carrying a knife.
But he accepted: “It’s not a question of whether there should be custody or not, but how long that should be.
“There are positives in the pre-sentence report. First of all when he is at liberty, Mr Butterfield can hold down a job.”
Butterfield, of White Eagle Road, Haydon Wick, had turned his back on his former drug-dominated lifestyle, and had abstained from alcohol and drugs.
“There is a man here who is genuinely remorseful for his acts.”
Swindon Crown Court heard he had been released on licence just months before the incident, having been jailed for 17 months for affray in December 2020.
Sentencing, Recorder Chidgey said that the offence, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, was “one of the most serious offences in the criminal calendar.”
He disagreed with Mr Clough’s assertions that the incident arose from “a series of dominoes”, and said: “You have fallen out with the victim in this case, and the opportunity to take this dispute into your own hands emerged when you met him on this occasion.”
Referring to the tyre iron, he said: “That is a pretty fearsome weapon, pretty heavy, and can cause damage to a person’s head. The victim was taken to hospital and was put into an induced coma.
“It is by good fortune that he has made a good recovery. That is fortunate for you.
“This is an incident that could have involved much more serious charges.”
Sentencing the 28-year-old to seven years and two months in prison, Recorder Chidgey acknowledged that Butterfield is “someone that has over the years resorted to violence”.
He will serve at least two thirds of the sentence before being considered for release on licence.
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