PeTA takes interest in Lawrence, KS cat killing case: letters still ne

[Guest guest]

I received this from another list and am passing it on.

 

Regards,

 

Sharon

 

Lawrence [Kansas] Journal-World

Saturday, January 27, 2001

 

PETA takes interest in cat killing

by Mike Belt

 

National animal rights activists are crying for full penalties against a

Lawrence man accused of killing a cat.

Martin Mersereau, caseworker for People for the Ethical Treatment of

Animals (PETA), based in Norfolk, Va., sent a letter to Lawrence

Municipal Court prosecutor Tom Porter about the incident.

He urged Porter to " remain sensitive to the extremely violent and

malicious nature of this attack. "

 

Mersereau also asked that the suspect, Brett Rizzo, be prosecuted to the

fullest extent of the law.

 

Porter, however, has already sent the case to the Douglas County

District Attorney's Office for review. Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney

Tonkovich said her office would determine whether it would be possible

to file charges under state law that would carry harsher penalties than

Municipal Court. As of Friday the case was still under review.

 

Rizzo was cited with cruelty to animals and criminal damage to property

in connection with the killing of " Mama Cat. " The cat's mangled body was

found Jan. 17 in a Dumpster by groundskeepers at Meadowbrook Apartments,

101-T Windsor Place.

 

A few weeks earlier the cat gave birth to four kittens, groundskeepers

said. Two had been given away before the mother's death. The other two

remain at the complex under the care of the groundskeepers.

 

" We've had several calls from people wanting to adopt them but we're

going to keep them here, " said Tony Frentrop, one of the groundskeepers.

 

Thirty-one states have laws making cruelty to animals a felony,

Mersereau said. Kansas is not one of them. "

http://www.ljworld.com/section/citynews/story/40754

 

And:from the same newspaper, an earlier report dated Saturday, January

20:

 

Cat's death brings calls for tougher cruelty laws by Mike Belt

 

The gruesome killing of a cat at a Lawrence apartment complex is drawing

outrage -- and raising questions among some about priorities.

 

State Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, said Friday that his office

received several calls from Lawrence residents angry about the demise of

an adopted feline known as " Mama Cat. "

 

For the past few years Haley has pushed a bill that would make such a

crime a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

 

" It's a major issue of concern -- and a growing concern -- when we have

people who cruelly mistreat animals for their own perverse needs, " Haley

said.

Lawrence Police, Animal Control officers and representatives from the

Lawrence Humane Society were called Wednesday after Mama Cat's mutilated

body was found in a trust Dumpster at Meadowbrook Apartments. They were

shocked to find blood spattered on an apartment balcony, a wall, cars

and an apartment door.

 

The female cat had been a stray taken in by groundskeepers at the

complex.

Brett Rizzo, 23, Lawrence, was cited by policy to appear in Municipal

Court for cruelty to animals and criminal damage to property, both

misdemeanors and the strongest charges allowed under state law. No

information was available on when his court appearance will be.

 

The cruelty to animals charge carries penalties that could include a

fine from $100 to $1,000 and up to a 6-month jail sentence, said Tom

Porter, municipal prosecutor. The property damage charge could bring

fines from $25 to $500 and up to a year in jail, he said.

 

While the cat's death was one of the more gruesome cases, Humane Society

representatives say they see evidence of many cruelty-to-animal cases.

 

" We want people to call their legislators and urge stiffer penalties for

cruelty to animals cases, " said the Humane Society's Amy Tramill.

 

Haley's bill -- sometimes referred to as " the Scruffy bill " -- has

passed the Kansas House each of the past two years, when Haley served as

a state representative. It has never been introduced in the Senate.

Haley will do that this year.

 

Haley developed the bill after a publicized animal brutality case in

Kansas City, Kan.

In that case, several men were charged with beating, kicking and setting

afire a Scottish terrier named Scruffy. The incident was videotaped and

the tape tell into the hands of police. Some of those involved were

successfully convicted of arson, a felony.

 

Haley argues that it would be easier to get mental counseling and other

help to those convicted of animal cruelty if the charge was a felony.

 

While agreeing that the torture and death of animals is hideous, child

advocates wonder why the public doesn't show as much outrage about the

abuse of children.

" It's certainly disappointing that the death or abuse of a child doesn't

bring about the same sense of outrage, " said Tina Long, spokeswoman for

the Kansas Children's Service League, based in Wichita.

Long urged people to focus that same outrage by speaking out through

public channels and calling legislators for more programs to help

prevent child abuse and provide treatment for the abusers.

 

The reporter can be reached at: mbelt

 

Per my last post, letters urging prosecution to the fullest extent of

the law should be addressed to:

 

Christine Kenney Tonkovich, District Attorney Office of the Douglas

County District Attorney Judicial and Law Enforcement Center

111 East 11th Street

Lawrence, KS 66044

Tel. (785) 841-0211

 

To repeat: Kansas state law KSA 21-4310 makes cruelty to animals a Class

A misdemeanor. Animal cruelty used to be a Class B misdemeanor until

Scruffy's brutal murder. Now, With enough support for Kansas State

Senator David Haley's bill, Mama Cat's vicious murder could be the

catalyst that makes cruelty to animals a FELONY in Kansas. We can help

by writing letters. As usual, please use restraint when writing.

 

For the animals,

Livi French, Director

The Caring Corps, Inc.

Box 319 Gracie Sta., NY, NY 10028

Phone/Fax 212.737.9358