Victim Witness Statement

🧠 Intro for Victim Impact Statement (Cornelius Tyson Case)

This post is part of my public Memory Ark, a growing archive built to document and expose the failures of systems that have hurt people like me—and people like Cornelius Tyson.

On April 4, 2025, I was attacked by a mentally unstable individual on Fox Road in Springfield, Massachusetts. What followed was not just a personal crisis, but a chilling reminder of how unprepared and unwilling the Commonwealth is to address mental illness, safety, and public trust. The Victim Impact Statement below was written as part of the criminal proceedings against the defendant, but it is also a broader testimony.

I include it here not just as evidence, but as an act of resistance.

This isn’t about vengeance—it’s about accountability and about a system that continues to fail both victims and the people it labels as criminals. To explore other related events and documentation, use the sidebar to browse the Memory Ark, where more posts from 1994–2025 are cataloged by year and theme.

Victim Impact Statement
Name: Ricky Stebbins 
Defendant: Cornelius Tyson 
Docket No.: 2523-02184

1. How has this crime affected you and those close to you?

On April 4, 2025, I was attacked by a mentally unstable individual who lunged at me from the woods on Fox Road in Springfield. I narrowly escaped being cut, but the experience deeply unsettled me, not just for my own safety, but for the safety of my community. Since that night, I’ve carried the emotional weight of knowing how easily this could’ve ended differently. I replay the moment constantly, what if I hadn’t had a knife to protect myself? What if this had happened to someone without the awareness, reflexes, or resolve to fight back? This isn’t just about me. It’s about the people who won’t speak up, who’ll freeze in terror, who won’t make it home. That thought keeps me up at night more than anything else. Now, every time I walk through a store or public area, I’m jumpy. I constantly turn around, scanning my environment, half-expecting someone to lunge at me again.

I feel like I’m trapped in a state of survival, unable to fully relax. I'm always preparing for the worst. The individual who attacked me has publicly bragged online about "getting away with" past court cases, cases I have no personal knowledge of, but it’s clear that on some level he understands the court system isn’t designed to help people like him or take him seriously. He knows the system won’t hold him accountable or offer him any realistic treatment options, and that’s what makes this so dangerous. The morning after the attack, the defendant posted on Facebook about street fights, further showcasing his lack of understanding of the seriousness of his actions. Screenshots of the post were captured and archived.

Despite the severity of his actions, he was released on his own recognizance and I was only informed when I called the DA's officer about a problem with the victim witness website being down.

Meanwhile, I’ve been dragged through years of court proceedings in Springfield, Worcester and East Brookfield over far less serious matters, never once given the kind of leniency this defendant received after lunging at me with a weapon. 

The 2013 case, when I was denied medical attention after being hit by a car and wrongfully charged, this shattered my marriage. In 2021, my efforts to expose abuse against disabled adults were met with hostility and disbelief, turning my own family against me. The repeated injustice has not only isolated me but has also deepened the emotional wounds inflicted over the years.

I’ve spent years advocating for individuals with disabilities, watching the state abandon, abuse, and misdiagnose people like the defendant. That’s what terrifies me the most: the system fails him and people like him every day, but it also puts people like me directly in harm’s way as a result.

Even more disturbing, all of this has happened while Springfield Police, Hampden County officials, lawyers, and judges have failed to do their jobs and protect me. I have reached out, documented, and shouted my story, and yet the silence from those in power has been deafening. The courts, law enforcement, and legal system, those tasked with keeping people safe, have abandoned their roles at every turn. This entire event mirrors what happened to me in February 2014, when I was attacked on Phillips Avenue while walking to court to extend a harassment order against the same woman who had lied to the courts about her address. That case was mishandled from the start, and the Springfield Police ignored physical evidence. Now, in 2025, the pattern repeats.

2. What physical injuries or symptoms have you suffered?

I did not suffer direct physical injuries that required hospitalization. But I continue to experience physical signs of stress: increased heart rate, hypervigilance in public spaces, and disrupted sleep. These are not abstract symptoms, they affect how I function, how I move through the world, and how I relate to others. Worse, I have been denied access to appropriate mental health professionals by my Massachusetts controlled health insurance provider. 

Despite having no history of violence, I’ve been forced to defend myself in court for years over lesser charges. Meanwhile this man, after lunging at me with a weapon, was released immediately without any proper evaluation, oversight, consequence or accountability.

3. How has this affected your work, education, or daily life?

I am already on disability because my health issues were not taken seriously for decades, I suffer from PTSD and anxiety due to earlier court-related trauma and systemic failures in Massachusetts. This incident only made those conditions worse. My ability to concentrate, trust people, and feel safe while walking outside has been severely impacted. I avoid certain areas, avoid walking alone, and remain on high alert whenever I’m in public, even during the day.

The truth is, I almost killed a man that night. Not out of rage, but because the state abandoned its duty, and left both of us alone in the dark.

4. Sentencing Recommendation:

I am not submitting this statement to demand revenge. What I want is simple: accountability, safety, and truth. I believe the man who attacked me needs mental health treatment and long-term support, but I also know that the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office has neither the capacity nor the will to handle this case with integrity. 

My affidavit lays out years of misconduct. The system failed both of us. The court must now do what it has failed to do for years: act responsibly, transparently, and justly.

I am not just asking for action. I am demanding it, because continued silence, at this point, would make it clear that this court is complicit.

✔️ *Yes, I want to be notified of any future developments, including parole, release, or case outcomes.

A copy of my sworn affidavit outlining years of institutional misconduct has been submitted separately as part of this case.

*Signed: ___________________________ Date: ______________________