The Crime/Animal Cruelty Connection

by Gina Simmons, Ph.D. 

Earl got a kick out of lighting firecrackers after placing them in the rectums of neighborhood dogs. He also hung cats by the neck. Earl Kenneth Shriner later raped, stabbed and mutilated a seven-year-old boy. 

Brenda Spencer loved to set fire to the tails of dogs and cats. She later opened fire on an elementary school in San Diego, killing two people and injuring nine others.

Sharon McDonough, 44, tortured and murdered dozens of pets and ran what her son called a "concentration camp for the animals." After her adult son turned her in, her seven children were placed in foster care. Judge C. Randall Hinrichs lamented he couldn't sentence her to more than the 2 year maximum sentence saying, "The penal law is inadequate to adequately address the true magnitude of the actions here."

The link between animal cruelty and crimes against people is well established. Children who harm animals tend to grow to abuse people. When a pattern of cruelty appears in children, they typically qualify for a diagnosis of conduct disorder. These kids often engage in vandalism, violence against others, and property crimes. When they grow up, they most often meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder (APD). These are the psychopaths who lack empathy and find satisfaction from sadistic acts of cruelty.

Several states have proposed legislation for an animal abuse registry. California's bill, introduced by State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (AB 1277), sits in limbo because of California's budget woes. A registry like this can help law enforcement track those with this history and potentially prevent crimes against people. Of course the current economic climate makes passage of this legislation unlikely.

In March, a New York court was the first to use animal DNA to convict criminals of animal cruelty. Two young men doused a cat with lighter fluid and set it ablaze. Another young man beat a cat to death with an umbrella. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (A.S.P.S.A.) has collected animal DNA for six other cases. This trend can only grow, protecting both animals and humans from these sadistic criminals. 

Research shows that animal abusers often suffered physical and sexual abuse and witnessed domestic violence as children. Some of these children, with early intervention, might be helped. Teachers, counselors, neighbors and relatives of children with this problem can advocate for early mental health treatment. Care that coordinates law enforcement, counseling, child protective services and support can save some of these tormented youth. If these children obtain placement in a safe home early enough, many can grow to lead healthy, productive lives. 

Photos courtesy of Stoooi, DoubleNJenn and The fly over zone.

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Truth and Consequence

by Sheryl McCollum

By definition, the meanings of "consequence" include "result; something that follows a result."

If I hear another person say that Michael Vick has "paid his debt," I will lose my mind. Criminals sometimes go to jail for their crimes. Jail is punishment. After they get out of jail, their debt has not been paid. Society has a say-so; it's called consequences. After jail, the criminal must face the court of public opinion -- the result that follows a result such as his conviction for maiming and murdering dogs. Society will decide his other sentence.

Are we going to trust and welcome him back into our society, or are we going to forever see him as a criminal who can't be trusted? Will he be like citizens on the sex-offender registry: We don't trust them now, and we won't trust them later?

The public now gets to determine its future relationship with Vick. It's your turn to decide the consequences for Vick's past behavior.

Let's Recall the Facts

• A drug raid on Vick's property led police to a dog fighting ring.

• Informants said some 30 dogs were buried on the property, and Vick actively participated in dog fighting and betting, not one or two times, but since his college days!

• Vick bankrolled the gambling on these fights.

• Vick owned and bred dogs to fight so others could bet on the "matches."

• Vick lied about his involvement with dog fighting to his team owner and coach, to the NFL, and to fans, law enforcement, and subsequently, the world.

So what does this all mean? Vick used his dogs, money and property for criminal activity. After police broke up the ring, 66 dogs found temporary homes in shelters. According to court records, Vick operated his dog-fighting venue for more than five years. How many dogs suffered and died during that time? His co-defendant admitted to killing dogs who "did not perform well -- by hanging or drowning." In fact, the 18-page indictment states dogs were "electrocuted, drowned, shot or hanged." Also found on the property: a "rape stand" used for breeding. Doesn't this show how involved Vick and his co-defendants were in this brutal criminal activity?

During the investigation, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell ordered Vick to stay away from the Falcons training camp. Reebok, Upper Deck Trading Cards, AirTran Airlines and Rawlings Sports Goods all chose to end their relationships with him. Nike dropped him. These humiliations and income losses are consequences, imposed not by law but by society.

Man's Best Friend

A few facts about dogs: More people have dogs than children. Most states have more animal shelters than shelters for battered women. Dogs keep us safe. They sweep buildings for bombs and cars for drugs. As partners of police officers, each is trained to take down a bad guy holding a gun. Many are trained to take a bullet for their human partners. Dogs help find missing and lost people; some are trained to find dead bodies. They give vision-impaired people the freedom to walk around safely, helping them cross streets, go up and down steps, and maneuver around other hazards. Some service dogs give alerts of impending seizures, providing just enough time for their owners to sit or lie down instead of suddenly hitting the ground. I wonder.....

How many people who benefit from and love dogs would want season tickets to see Vick throw a football? Has Vick put his life on the line to save another? Has he ever helped a blind person get around for a day? Has he ever risked his life sniffing out dangerous materials in a high-rise?

Vick can throw a ball - big friggin deal! I'll take the dog!

Where there's Smoke there's Fire

"In a crisis, don't hide behind anything or anybody. They are going to find you out anyway." -- Bear Bryant.

Vick lied. He said he was never at the property, that he had learned a lesson about "trusting family members." Then he was indicted and plead not guilty.

Remember why his home was raided in the first place?

On Sept. 26, 2007, a federal judge placed tighter restrictions on Vick after he tested positive for marijuana while awaiting sentencing on the felony charge. The judge in Vick's case told him: "I'm not convinced you've fully accepted responsibility." Vick had a six-year contract worth a potential $62 million, including a signing bonus of $15 million. He was later sued by banks and filed for bankruptcy. Yes, Vick lost money, fame, fans and a lucrative career. Yes, he served time in prison. Too bad. These are all consequences.

Vick's Future

Vince Lombardi: "Football is like life; it requires perseverance, self denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication, and respect for authority."

Many criminologists say if you want to know about future behavior look at past behavior. Vick's past shows him as a liar, animal killer, gambling backer, and drug user. The Miami Dolphins said they were "interested" in the reinstated Vick. His future in football may be uncertain, but one thing is certain to follow Vick wherever he goes: The consequences of his past crimes.

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Here Kitty Kitty

by Pat Brown

My daughter, Jennifer, the tough child abuse detective, called me the other evening in tears. One of her kittens, Baby Norris, was in a freak accident; a board fell on it causing a bad concussion. She had arrived home from work and found the kitten lying under the board, unconscious, blood coming out of its nose. She took it to the emergency animal hospital where she forked out hundreds of dollars for medicine she hoped would prevent brain swelling and save the cat's life. The doctors didn't seem all that hopeful that the medicine would work, but Jennifer felt she had to do all she could to help the kitten survive. After two treatments she took the still near comatose cat home. She put Baby Norris in bed with her and stayed awake most of the night watching him. He was still alive but weak in the morning and so she called for her brother to come over and stay with him while she was at work. She called home regularly for updates on Baby Norris's condition.

What makes Jennifer's concern doubly touching is that Baby Norris wasn't even a kitten she was keeping; it was one of the five she was giving away. And she didn't ask Daddy Norris, the future owner, to help with the bill. She felt responsible for the accident and so she forked out the money herself on a cat that, if it lived, wasn't even going to be her cat.

The story has a happy ending. Baby Norris made a complete recovery and went off to his new home.

A little Bronx kitty didn't fare so well. Tiger Lily, an adorable orange and brown kitten with big pointed ears, was tortured and murdered by 17-year-old Cheyenne Cherry. Cherry tossed Tiger Lily into a kitchen oven, closed the door, turned up the heat, and roasted the poor creature to death. Apparently, Cherry thought it was pretty funny and no big deal as she "doesn't like cats" anyway. Besides, she wanted to get back at her roommate and I am sure she got a big giggle thinking about her ex-friend's face when she opened the oven door and found the charred body of her beloved pet inside.

A week after that despicable story came out, we hear that a Florida teenager has been arrested in string of brutal cat slayings, charged with torturing, mutilating, and murdering at least nineteen of his neighbor's cats. Eighteen-year-old Tyler Hayes Weinman is accused not only of horrific abuse of animals, but also of displaying their mutilated bodies in grotesque positions on the lawns of their owners. Weinman, the serial cat killer, like the coldblooded Cheyenne Cherry above, has no empathy for either animals or humans and gets his kicks out of causing extreme suffering, both physical and emotional, to other living creatures.

These two disgusting so-called human beings join a long list of violent psychopaths who enjoyed torturing and murdering animals in their youth. Serial killer and cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer liked to stick heads of animals on sticks in his yard. Serial killer Edward Kemper decapitated his pet cat and stuffed it down the disposal just like he did his mother sometime later. Child murderer Earl Shriner stuck firecrackers into dog's rectums and spree killer Andrew Cunanan liked to stick lit matches into the eye's of crabs and then watch them stagger around blindly. And let's not forget the Columbine mass murderers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who bragged to their friends that they got a kick out of mutilating animals.

The list of killers who started violent crime careers with animals abuse is extremely lengthy. If fact, studies cited by the Humane Society found 46% of serial killers admitted to committing cruelty to animals as juveniles and 50% of school shooters had a history of animal cruelty. I can bet the numbers are actually much higher but some psychopaths hide their crimes better than others and some are simply lying about their past maltreatment of animals.

Does this mean all young people who torture and kill animals will become serial killers or mass murderers? No, but I think society needs to recognize the danger we are putting innocent people in when we don't deal with these psychopaths harshly enough. It is not okay to give them probation or a few weeks or months in jail and then send them back into our neighborhoods. It isn't even okay to suspend their sentence if they agree to get psychiatric help because no amount of therapy is going to cure them of their sadistic desire to inflict pain and suffering on others.

So what do we do with serial killers who haven't yet chosen humans as their prey? Our country is huge and our population transient. Neighbors often don't know each other at all and there is no way for citizens to be aware these predators are in their communities.

I think it is time we require violent repeat offenders and violent offenders of one extremely heinous crime to be registered, tracked, and "outed" just like sex offenders. In olden days, criminals had a harder time hiding because everyone knew who the bad guy was in their neighborhood. We should return to those days: if the violent criminal tries to hide among people who don't know him, we should do those people a favor and rat him out.

Violent offenders don't need a break; innocent people do.

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