At the
outset I stipulate that:
I am not a
lawyer;
People who
do hurt animals are despicable creatures; and
The American
justice system confounds me
The other
day I came across a story from Baltimore, MD about an 81-year-old great-grandmother
who was arrested and spent nearly two nights in jail. What was her crime you might ask?
Apparently
months ago, two of Mary Magdalene Root's dogs got away from her home several
times and she was fined $7,000 after a neighbor took photos and reported her
to animal control. Did the neighbor
think to help the elderly woman at all? Talk to her first? No. Methinks there
is a long-standing issue here. But I
digress...
Ms. Root
could not pay the hefty fine. Upon doctor’s orders, the elderly woman could not
go to court and the judge ordered the 81-year-old widow arrested and hauled
into jail.
Even if
…even if the dogs had been getting out, shouldn’t authorities, family or neighbors have intervened before it got to the
arrest stage? Doesn’t $7,000 seem excessive to you?
Thankfully a
kind soul did intervene and paid the $250 bail but not before the woman spent
time in a jail cell.
People who
really do abuse animals rarely get the sentence they deserve. Hundreds pay no
fine nor see any jail time…and that makes me angry!
This story
gets my ire up on its own merits. But taken against some other recent national
cases makes me want to scream WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY?!
In February
2014 we heard about the affluent brat named Ethan Couch who drove drunk, killed
four people and would spend no time in jail.
His brazen lawyer was able to convince that judge, through a defense
witness, that 'little Ethan' was too coddled to know right from wrong. And thus an ‘affluenza’ defense was born.
(Perhaps it has been used in the past but it has not received such national attention)
Recently,
Army Brig. General Jeffrey Sinclair avoided jail time even though he pleaded
guilty to lesser sexual assault charges.
He will forfeit a portion of four months of salary but keeps his pension
and his rank. There are reports his defense team was surprised at the lenient
sentence.
And let us
not forget all the celebrities out there who misbehave and are a menace to
society that rarely see the inside of a jail cell even after being arrested–
I’m talking about you Mr. Bieber.
And don’t
even get me started on the problems with three-strikes laws…
Something
has got to give!
.
