man gets two years in prison for harming kitten (WARNING: graphic)

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-L. - 21 Sep 2006 09:01 GMT

Finally! A victory for animals everywhere!
-L.
********************

Man jailed for beheading girlfriend's kitten

EDWARDSVILLE, Illinois (AP) -- A man who admitted in court to tearing
off the head of a kitten after a fight with his girlfriend has been
sentenced to two years in prison.

When it comes to animal abuse cases, "we don't get prison sentences all
the time, so it's always good when we do," Stephanee Smith, a
spokeswoman for the Madison County state's attorney's office, said
Tuesday of the case against Jacob Thornton.

Thornton, 21, was to have had a preliminary hearing last Thursday on
the felony animal torture charge but instead pleaded guilty, Smith
said.

A judge ordered Thornton's sentence to run concurrently to a prison
term related to a parole violation on a 2005 aggravated battery
conviction.

Authorities say that after a July 28 dispute between Thornton and his
live-in girlfriend, the 30-year-old woman left the home before
returning to find her kitten's head and detached body in the front
yard.

Four days after he was charged with animal torture, Thornton was also
charged with burglarizing a motor vehicle. That case is pending.

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The Polish-Kraut - 21 Sep 2006 13:23 GMT

Some might consider it a victory but I think that he should have
gotten a lot more for what he did !!

>Finally! A victory for animals everywhere!
>-L.
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
>Four days after he was charged with animal torture, Thornton was also
>charged with burglarizing a motor vehicle. That case is pending.

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chili palmer - 21 Sep 2006 13:43 GMT

> Some might consider it a victory but I think that he should have
> gotten a lot more for what he did !!

I agree

except I would put him to work outside the prison sixteen hours a day
EVERYDAY. no time off sucka! we work everyday

--
ot: looking to make a trade
subject: one tired chinese water torturer, 40 yrs old, masterbates
alot, poor vision.
would like one year news server subscription obo

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-L. - 21 Sep 2006 17:47 GMT

> Some might consider it a victory but I think that he should have
> gotten a lot more for what he did !!

Of course, but ANY conviction for animal cruelty which involves prison
time in the US is *extremely* rare. Most perps get a slap on the
wrist.

-L.

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chili palmer - 21 Sep 2006 19:49 GMT

> Of course, but ANY conviction for animal cruelty which involves prison
> time in the US is *extremely* rare. Most perps get a slap on the
> wrist.

I Thought this punishment was rare but the judge who handed out this
sentence must have been shocked to learn the a.shole pulled the head
off of a kitten. I was a little shocked. If a person has been in this
world for the past decade this sort of behavior can seem mild IN
COMPARISON TO THE sh.t PEOPLE TO DO EACH OTHER
(I won't mention them, it's a shame to even mention them)

LIke you say, most perps get a slap, but not all do.. I think it
depends on the community, the offender and the judge.

In the US do you feel that tougher penalties for offenses against
animals will ever be realized? Some people ritualistically kill animals
as a matter of religious practice, do you feel this could ever put a
cap on tougher penalties for crimes against animals. Wouldn't
imposition upon the secular world become exclusitivity towards some
religions who do in ignorance sacrifice animals?

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-L. - 21 Sep 2006 21:15 GMT

> I Thought this punishment was rare but the judge who handed out this
> sentence must have been shocked to learn the a.shole pulled the head
> off of a kitten. I was a little shocked. If a person has been in this
> world for the past decade this sort of behavior can seem mild IN
> COMPARISON TO THE sh.t PEOPLE TO DO EACH OTHER
> (I won't mention them, it's a shame to even mention them)

Animal abuse is an indicator of sociopathic behavior and one of three
behaviors manifested by most serial killers - the other two being
pyromania and bed wetting. Animal abusers often go on to abuse and/or
torture humans.

One interesting factiod is that the laws which protect children in the
US were actually modeled after the laws that protected animals in the
1800s. Prior to that, it was legal to beat your child to near death
but not legal to beat your horse at all.

> LIke you say, most perps get a slap, but not all do.. I think it
> depends on the community, the offender and the judge.

In this country by and large is is extremely rare to get prison time
for animal cruelty. Until recently (like the last 7 years or so), in
most states animal cruelty was a class-1 or 2 misdemeanor. The fact
that this guy got prison time is a real victory for animal rights. In
many states animal cruelty is still a misdemeanor - Alaska, Arkansas,
Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, New
Jersey, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming.
In soome other states it is prosecuted as either a misdemeanor or a
felony, depending on the offense.

> In the US do you feel that tougher penalties for offenses against
> animals will ever be realized?

I hope so, though I don't expect prison time for many perps. Recently
a dog was awarded a restraining order against a man who abused him.
That was another huge victory for animal rights.

>Some people ritualistically kill animals
> as a matter of religious practice,

Ritual sacrifice is not abuse. Slitting the throat of a chicken or
goat is not illegal except if that animal is to be used for food (and
ritualized animals are not consumed), it *could be* a violation of the
humane slaughter act. Ritual slaughter for religious purposes is
protected by the constitution, as it should be.

>do you feel this could ever put a
> cap on tougher penalties for crimes against animals.

No, because it's not a crime, if it is done as part of an established
religious ritual, and is done humanely. It is no different than the
home farmer who kills his own chicken for the purpose of eating
although the reason for doing so is different.

> Wouldn't
> imposition upon the secular world become exclusitivity towards some
> religions who do in ignorance sacrifice animals?

I don't beieve it is done in ignorance - it is merely a ritual of a
different belief system (Santeria, for example) than the prevailing one
in this country (Christianity).

Here is a good link regarding Santeria:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/santeri.htm
(Ignore the advertizing)

If someone who claims to be ritualistically sacrificing animals is
proven to be killing the animal in such a way that its death is deemed
inhmane, that person can be prosecuted, just as the home or factory
farmer who kills an animal inhumanely is supposed to be prosecuted for
the crime.

-L.

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