Update: A comment from Thomas J. Pliura was added to the story.A judge erred when he unilaterally slashed a punitive damages award from $500,000 to $50,000, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held inmate Donald E. Beard Jr. should have been given a choice of either the reduced award or a new trial on the amount of damages he is owed for violations of his Eighth Amendment rights.A panel of the 7th Circuit sent Beard’s case back to federal trial court in Urbana with instructions …