Animal cruelty gets harsher punishment
Beth Breitenstein | May 9, 2006 10:47 PM | Link
Ernest Martin is pretty well known at the Lawrence Humane Society in Lawrence. Martin, a convicted cocaine dealer, also trained pit bulls to fight in his home at 2133 Naismith. However, when the dogs were taken from his home, abused and hungry, he was not charged with animal cruelty. Starting July 1, things will change for Martin.
Since Kathlene Sebelius signed the bill to pass the new animal cruelty law on April 28th, if Martin is caught abusing animals again, he will have to add “animal abuse felon” to his record.
Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane society is pleased with the change. “We recovered 9 obviously abused pit bulls from his property and I can’t tell you how frustrating it is that he was only charged for the drugs and not the abuse,” said Grinstead.
Grinstead says the amount of abuse that she encounters every day is unbelievable. Grinstead estimates she sees about 100-150 abuse cases in a typical year. She said what bothers her is almost all of those cases go without punishment for the caretaker of the animal. “When I took this job several years ago, I didn’t realize I would ever see some of the things I have,” she said.
This new abuse law did not come without a fight. It all began 9 years ago, when “Scruffy’s Law” was proposed, largely by Senator David Haley. However, when he proposed the law to the senate, he was barked and meowed at, and made fun of for his efforts.
Now, after yet another attempt in 2002, the bill has finally passed. The new law requires that someone who commits purposeful abuse on an animal will be required to spend at least 30 days in jail, and must have a psychological evaluation thereafter. Senator David Haley is very pleased with the decision.
“Labeling these latent predators as felons puts the public on notice of their propensity for violence and deviant behavior against a living creature. It gives the court system greater latitude in prescribing the mental health treatment these offenders warrant,” said Haley.
Cindy Sellars and Kurt with K-9 Rescue in Witchita march down Kansas Avenue in Topeka. Following the event, the group went to Gage Park in Topeka with the dogs. Photo By: Beth Breitenstein The psychological evaluation was yet another change. “We know abuse is about power, but there is something mentally deficient about people who abuse animals in this way,” said Grinstead. Also, the person convicted will not be able to house or own pets for 5 years.
There has been a lot of research in psychology that attempts to explain animal abuse. Cruelty to animals is one characteristic of Conduct Disorder in children and adolescents as indicated in DSM-IV (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association). It is Conduct Disorder that often leads to Antisocial Personality Disorder in adults. Dennis Karpowitz, a psychology professor at KU agrees. “Antisocial Personality Disorder is associated with individuals who are aggressive or violent with little sense of guilt or remorse, and they should be looked at as dangerous,” said Karpowitz.
Some historic criminals, such as Jeffery Dahmer, have had animal abuse in their past. “Jeffrey Dahmer was pretty into killing rabbits and cats when he was a kid,” said Leslie Karwoski, a therapist at KU. But, even more recently, BTK was accused of animal abuse in his past. “If it weren’t for BTK and Magnum’s death, I don’t think the ball could’ve got rolling this quickly,” said Grinstead.
Magnum was a black Labrador puppy that was bound with wire, burnt with chemicals, and left to die in Wichita, Kansas on August 3, 2005.
Cindy Sellars, a Wichita native, said that the death of Magnum is what caught her interest and made her advocate for a change in the law. “We formed ‘Magnum Force’ which was a grass roots organization that was inspired by Magnum’s death in Wichita, and we rallied for change,” she said. Sellars, along with just a handful of others, including Senator Haley, Midge Grinstead, and a few members of the Humane Society in Kansas City, helped. “Our goal was to get a few thousand signatures to show the House and Senate that people cared and wanted change,” said Sellars.
Cindy Sellars, members of Kansas K-9 Rescue, and their dogs participate in an event called "Bow Wow Pow Wow" on April 29. They walked the dogs around the capital to thank the Senators that voted for the new animal cruelty law. Photo By: Beth Breitenstein However, the rally was not met with open arms. Several Representatives in the House believe that the law is unnecessary. The 7 Representatives that voted against the new cruelty law believe that the law does not have people’s best interest in consideration. “They did not think that this law was benefiting anyone and that these animal cruelty felons would be taking up jail space that more serious criminals should have,” said Grinstead. However, the response to this was the fact that many serial killers start out abusing animals.
“When it comes down to it, I think it was a combination of the 82,000 names we gathered and the thousands of letters, phone calls, and emails that the House Committee members received on a daily basis that changed this law,” said Grinstead.
Now, Grinstead says she has a new job to do. “I will try in anyway I can to catch people like Ernest Martin, and stop them before they start doing worse crimes,” said Grinstead.
Source: Magnum Force Web Site
Official Web site for MagnumForce