So the Press DemocratâSonoma County's newspaperâfinally weighs in on Clay Greene's lawsuit:
In a lawsuit that has sparked a firestorm within the gay community, a Guerneville man claims that Sonoma County officials prevented him from being with his dying partner of 25 years, forced him into a nursing home and then sold all of the coupleâs possessions.The multi-million dollar suit alleges that Clay Greene, 78, was barred from visiting Harold Scull, 88, as he lay in a Santa Rosa hospital bed in 2008, and that Greene was eventually placed in a Sonoma Valley care facility against his will.
A lawyer for Sonoma County denied the allegations, saying the two men were kept apart as part of a domestic violence case. Greg Spaulding, who represents past and present county employees named in the lawsuit, said Scull was hospitalized after he was attacked by Greene and their belongings were sold to cover expenses for their care.
If Greene attacked Scullâand if Greene hurt Scull so badly that Scull had to be hospitalizedâthen at the very least Greene was guilty of assault. Did Sonoma County go to the police? Did they report this attack? Greene never recovered; he died during that hospitalization. Do county officials believe that Scull's death the result of the injuries they allege he suffered at the hands of his partner of 25 years? If so, again, why didn't they call the police?