Denise K. Withee, 49, of Mapleton, Iowa, was convicted by a jury in July 2009 of three counts of felony cruel neglect of animals. She was sentenced by Hall County District Judge William Wright to four years of probation, and was ordered not to own, possess or reside with animals for five years.
 |
| Denise K. Withee |
On Jan. 12, authorities found 13 dogs in the Iowa home she shared with her mother. She returned to Hall County in March to spend time in jail for the violation and Wright ordered her to the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women in York for a 90-day diagnostic evaluation.
On Thursday, Withee appeared in court to be resentenced due to the revocation of her original probation.
“We’re going to start over with something,” Wright said.
Withee’s attorney, Deputy Hall County Public Defender Vicki Kenney, asked for consecutive terms of probation in the interest of helping her client and protecting animals. Consecutive terms would allow additional time for the court to supervise Withee. If she is sentenced to prison, she would likely be paroled quickly due to having already served 132 days behind bars and having a minimal criminal history, Kenney said.
“What she needs is supervision and psychological help,” she said.
Kenney said the evaluation done in York didn’t address animal hoarding specifically. Having done some research of her own, she said her client fits the description of an animal hoarder. She is someone who keeps a lot of animals and can’t see that she isn’t properly caring for them. Withee has severe depression and has soothed herself by owning animals that will give her unconditional love. Kenney compared the animal hoarding to a drug addict or an alcoholic taking more of a substance to reach a high.
“Unless treated, animal hoarding has a 100 percent recidivism rate,” Kenney said. “She’s an addict. She’s an addict of animals. She’s an addict of their unconditional love.”
During her trial, Withee testified she had been taking the dogs across Nebraska in July 2008 when she got sick and passed out. When she woke up, 20 of the dogs were dead and three were dying. She left them in a field near Grand Island before checking into a hotel with more dogs.
 |
| The field where the dead dogs were found |
Deputy Hall County Attorney David Medlin said Withee violated a condition of her probation that was directly related to the charges against her. He said he was aware of her mental health history and acknowledged she has some serious issues. He believed those issues could be fully addressed in the prison system.
She had the chance to get treatment while on probation before, but she failed to completely address her issues, Medlin said. He asked that she be sentenced to prison for the structured environment that will keep her away from animals for a while.
“Obviously, this court can’t control her forever,” he said.
Withee chose not to make a statement in court before being sentenced.
“You’ve obviously been an ongoing problem for this court for some time,” Wright said.
He said the Department of Corrections evaluation shows the limitations the state has in treating people with mental health issues. Withee had been treated at Mercy Behavioral Health Center in Iowa, where she received electroshock therapy and anti-depression medication. Wright said the electroshock shock therapy had apparently been working.
“You do have a severe, a major depressive disorder,” he said. “There is little point in keeping you incarcerated except to protect animals. You need ongoing treatment. I’ve got to put you on probation again, but this probation will be longer and have additional requirements.”
Those requirements include 100 hours of community service, electronic monitoring, intensive outpatient treatment including electroshock therapy, continuing on prescribed medications, and not owning or living with any animals for nine years or until her release from probation, he said.
In addition, Wright said, the probation office in Iowa doesn’t have to accept Withee’s probation and has 48 business hours to respond to Nebraska’s request that they supervise her probation. Wright ordered Withee to remain in Nebraska until Tuesday at 5 p.m. If Iowa doesn’t accept the supervision, Withee will have to return to court for another hearing, he said.
(The Independent - July 26, 2012)
