Friday, May 05, 2006

Disregard for life

Click the link above and on the right side when you scroll down a bit, you'll see a picture of a big-eyed doggie framed in a heart. The dog is Mercy and she never lived to see her first birthday. The reason? Dog murder. A 21-year old man tortured, burned and stabbed the dog. Rescuers and vets tried time and again to save her life but ultimately failed.

In Texas, laws against animal killing and torture carry maximum sentences of up to 10 years in prison, one of the longer sentences in the nation but still probably too low, but only if the accused has been twice convicted of the crime in the past or committed the crime while using a deadly weapon. Why too low? Because murdering pet animals is a mark of a pathologue (remember the very good Law and Order episode with the killer 10-year old girl -- the psychological studies are clear that persons who can and will kill semi-sentient animals in cold blood similarly will perform violent, torturous and/or murderous acts on humans).

In this case, the owner is the dog's accused killer. Because there is no indication that he has been convicted twice before for animal cruelty, the crime may only be a "state jail felony" punishable by only 6 months-2 years in the can. The lone loophole = use of a deadly weapon kicks the offense up to a third degree felony punishable by 10 years in the brig -- the owner stabbed the dog and then burned her with gasoline (knives and gasplusflame sound deadly to me).

Operation kindness is a pet rescue and no-kill shelter organization. It is hosting a petition to urge the Dallas County DA to seek the maximum sentence available against the accused. The Monk possibly can only hope - the accused is already free on a mere $2500 bond.

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