Of course. That should be obvious to anyone. I have yet to find a state where it's legal to send someone to the hospital with an Intracerebral hemorrhage because they insulted your girl. Moreover the fact he plead guilty to a "felony" aggravated assault speaks volumes. In this State that means prison time not just a jail time for a misdemeanor. Remember the Brian Stowe case at Dodger stadium where Giant and Dodger fans were insulting each other resulting in a Giant fan severely beaten up by a Dodger fan resulting in a severe and permanent brain injury. That resulted in severe prison sentences where the Dodger fans may never get out.
If the judge was NOT going to incarcerate Higbee he had to sentence him to some pretty severe probation terms. Otherwise he would not be doing the job he was elected to do. IMO Higbee's defense attorney did a pretty good job keeping him out of prison. .