Appeals Court: Beating a puppy to death with baseball bat is not torture

NOTE: Iowa, take notice. Beating an animal to death IS animal cruelty! ("Florida man gets 14 years for beating friend's dog to death with tire iron")

IOWA --An Iowa Appeals Court ruled this week that beating a puppy to death with a baseball bat is not torture.

The face of evil

Zachary Meerdink of Davenport appealed his 2012 conviction for animal torture arguing the state’s evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. Meerdink had beaten “Rocky” – a 7-month-old Boston terrier – to death with a baseball bat in 2011.

In January 2012, the State charged Meerdink with animal torture under Iowa Code section 717B.3A(1) (2011): “A person is guilty of animal torture, regardless of whether the person is the owner of the animal, if the person inflicts upon the animal severe physical pain with a depraved or sadistic intent to cause prolonged suffering or death.” Meerdink waived a jury trial.

According to court documents, Meerdink’s girlfriend had bought him a four-month-old Boston terrier in 2011. The woman testified the dog had accidents, “a lot of stomach problems,” and problems with “jumping up on people and [the dog] was starting to get aggressive and bite people.” The dog had bitten the woman and her kids, and the dog’s behavior was getting worse.

One evening at his girlfriend’s home – after an “accident” by the puppy – Meerdink took the dog outside and killed it with a baseball bat. Meerdink left the house and his girlfriend called police. A police officer later found the dead dog in the tall grass.

Meerdink had reportedly been reading books on how to correct the dog’s behavior problems.

The appeals court said in its ruling that it found “insufficient evidence defendant acted with a ‘depraved intent,’ we reverse and remand for dismissal of the case.”

[It says "depraved OR sadistic intent". It doesn't say "depraved AND sadistic". Clearly, it was sadistic. Merriam-Webster defines sadism as "delight in cruelty" and "excessive cruelty"]

A well-known attorney, who is in Mason City at this time for a high-profile discrimination case, told the Des Moines Register that “I have some great difficulty understanding how you can beat a puppy to death and not have sadistic intent,” Attorney Roxanne Conlin told the Register. “How could it not be sadistic?… It would seem as if this calls for an outcry.”

(North Iowa Today - July 10, 2013)