Several local citizens and I have repeatedly met with District Attorney Stan Garnett about the need to address animal cruelty more stringently. We have also discussed the issue of the well-studied connection between violence to animals and violence to humans. We have asked for psychological counseling for perpetrators of cruel acts, but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
You may remember the case of Nicholas Foti, the CU student who brutally killed a raccoon with a baseball bat and machete. Although he was initially charged with a felony, in the end he was faced with only misdemeanor charges and was sent on his way, even though we had pointedly asked the DA to look carefully at his case.
The viciousness and brutality of this student were shocking. When I asked why they let him off so lightly, I was told that he was a student who was trying to do something with his life by going to college, so they didn't want him to carry a felony on his record.
We all know about the two police officers who were complicit in the killing of the elk on Mapleton Hill. One of the officers, Brent Curnow, was able to arrange a plea bargain with the DA.
What is alarming is the reasons we were given for the DA agreeing to the plea bargain: Curnow was from a good family, he was a good father, he was a good cop, he was nearly bankrupt from his attorney fees, and what would it do to his children if their father went to jail? Is this legal justice? If he were from a different family and was a poor father, would he have received the same plea agreement? And, do good cops intentionally break the law?
Then there were the high school students in Longmont who viciously and deliberately herded geese into the street so they could run over them with an SUV. The perpetrators of this crime were given community service at Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation, which was a good start. However, when we again asked the DA why he didn't more stringently prosecute this violent act or request psychological counseling, we were told the driver of the SUV was a high school football player and the boys came from good families. What?
When a homeless man by the name of McMorris brutally kicked and dragged a small puppy down the street, his case was taken all the way to the Colorado Supreme Court. Hmmm, guess he wasn't from a "good family." It appears there is a double standard in Boulder!
Next comes CU student Jace Robert Griffiths who admitted bludgeoning a raccoon to death in Boulder. This time the felony cruelty charges were dismissed because he had a hunting license.
Really? Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulation No. 303 confirms that bludgeoning a raccoon with a bat is unlawful under the hunting statutes. Given that this is not legal hunting, why did the DA choose to dismiss the case? He surely must know the law and the hunting statutes.
The definition of felony aggravated cruelty to animals is "A person commits aggravated cruelty to animals if he or she knowingly tortures, needlessly mutilates, or needlessly kills an animal." Looks to me like this fits the criteria.
In yet another meeting with the DA, we were told 18 and 19 year olds sometimes think it is funny (or a word to that effect) to do these things. Doesn't it then make sense to let them know it is NOT funny? It is sick, depraved, cruel and illegal.
Even if you don't care about the lives of animals, you should be concerned about the lives of humans who may suffer at the hands of people who have first committed brutal acts against animals.
Yet another case — Richard Moller admitted savagely killing one raccoon and injuring another with a nail-studded board. Is he from a good family? I suppose we will find out when he goes to trial in May.
Please tell Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett we don't want favoritism (or "affluenza" as national media calls it) in our justice system, but we do want prosecution and psychological counseling for those who commit brutal crimes such as these. No one should be judged on whether they are or are not affluent. Contact the DA at (303) 441-3798 or by email at sgarnett@bouldercounty.org.
Rita L.R. Anderson, of Boulder, is with In Defense of Animals.
(Daily Camera - Feb 15, 2014)
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