The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
Feb 12, 2021
On this Day, February 12, 1946, while traveling home after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, African-American Isaac Woodard, still in uniform, is attacked and beaten by several South Carolina police officers over a dispute with a bus driver over the use of the restroom. He was then arrested. During the course of the night in jail, the Police Chief beat and blinded Woodard, who later stated in court that he was beaten for saying "Yes" instead of "Yes, sir".
He also suffered partial amnesia as a result of his injuries. Woodard further testified that he was punched in the eyes by police several times on the way to the jail, and later repeatedly jabbed in his eyes with a billy club.
Woodard's eyes had been "gouged out"; historical documents indicate that each globe was ruptured irreparably in the socket.
The attack left Woodard completely and permanently blind. Suffering from partial amnesia, he was fined $50 and denied medical treatment for
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