"Jurors heard opening arguments on Tuesday in the trial of a bird-watching
enthusiast who fatally shot a cat that he said was stalking endangered
shorebirds. The defendant, James M. Stevenson, is the founder of the
Galveston Ornithological Society and leads bird-watching tours on this Gulf
Coast island 60 miles southeast of Houston. If convicted on animal cruelty
charges in the shooting last November, he faces up to two years in jail and
a $10,000 fine...In her opening statement, Paige L. Santell, a Galveston
County assistant district attorney, told the jury of eight women and four
men that Mr. Stevenson 'shot that animal in cold blood' and that the cat
died a slow and painful death 'gurgling on its own blood.'...Testimony
followed from police officers and the veterinarian who performed the autopsy
on Mama Cat, a white and gray tabby mix. The jurors were shown several
photographs of the bloodied cat, reminiscent of an episode of 'CSI:
Miami.'...The prosecution and defense wrangled repeatedly about whether
witnesses could accurately assess the cat's state of mind. 'He's not
qualified to know what the cat was feeling,' said Mr. Nelson, when a police
officer, John P. Bertolino Sr., testified that the cat was in terrible pain
when he arrived at the crime scene. The cat died en route to a Humane
Society facility." [NYT]
2 comments:
This is a victory of the market...or at least proof that Maslow was right.
We don't have a damn thing else to worry about, so there's a trial for someone who shot a cat.
I love cats. I have two of them. I took a picture with my camera phone today when both of them were sitting om my lap, because the old fat cat was not hissing at the new cute little kitten. I showed this picture to my wife.
I can't believe that this is news.
In the New York Times.
If there's one thing I hate more than birds, it's cats.
I have no problem with people shooting cats on their own property, but just going out and doing it is wrong.
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