i mean, this guy is in a coma, brain damaged. so, i mean, i can't sit here and just cry about it because his life is forever changed. >> smalls has had numerous prior arrests and convictions on charges including assault, criminal domestic violence and possession with intent to distribute. now he is charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. though he has admitted to punching his victim, he has pled not guilty. >> i'm here, not trying to plead my innocence. i'm just looking for leniency. i don't know how long i could end up being there. a simple assault turned into worst case scenario. now i'm fighting for my life. >> while one instant forever changed his victim's life as well as his own, smalls is hardly alone. geraldo johnson has just been charged and booked into the jail. ten days earlier he was the driver in a terrible car crash that took the life of his passenger. >> death happens every day but i watched my girlfriend every year die in front of me.