Between them is a graphic picture of a donkey lying dead on the ground. Across all three pictures: a heavy sans serif headline in blood red, declaring “Teens Murder Three Donkeys In Cold Blood.”
The webhost is YouSignAnimals.org, a site dedicated to hosting petitions against animal cruelty worldwide. Among its other petitions are pages seeking to protect Florida bears, to allow Pennsylvanians to break car windows to rescue heat-distressed pets and to extradite Dr. Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who shot a popular and protected Zimbabwe lion named Cecil.
The specific “Impose jail time” page seeks 10,000 signatures (3,675 had been collected as of Thursday) and was posted by someone identifying herself as Emma Marion. Her plans are to turn the petition in to the “Pamlico County District Attorney.”
The page refers to the Jan. 30 shooting of three donkeys — two adults and their colt — who had wandered off the property of their owners, David and Wanda Spruill.
Pete and Peanut, the father and colt, were found dead about a mile from home by Spruill with the mother, Pearl, standing in the road.
Not knowing she had also been shot, he led her home and she died a day later.
Based on reports from the community, the Pamlico County Sheriff’s Office tracked Hancock and Bennett down, and the teens turned themselves in on Feb. 4 and were each charged with three felony counts of cruelty to animals, a class H felony. They made bail and have a court date of April 29.
While Marion repeated the story and cited comments from Hancock’s Facebook page, she didn’t exactly get the story straight, saying wrongly that the colt survived longest and was rushed to a hospital where it died.
YouSignAnimals.org states that “petitions are created by concerned animal lovers across the world and not by (our) staff,” but adds, “we proofread each and every petition and make sure the facts in the text are correct.”
The website did not reply to Sun Journal questions sent by email.
Numerous comments were listed on the page, and with only one or two exceptions, no one was in the mood to show any mercy on the shooters. The comments were overwhelming harsh with many demanding that the teens be put in jail “and throw away the key,” and in many cases stating they should suffer the same fate as the donkeys.
Words such as “monsters” and “degenerate” turned up frequently, and several suggested family members should also be called to account. (“These teens didn’t learn this hate and crewulty (sic) on their onw, so… someone else needs to share in the punishment,” was one statement.)
One animal rights Facebook page titled “Exposed” also ran the teens’ pictures and photographs of the three donkeys when the animals were still alive. The page included links to the teens’ Facebook pages. The comments here were, in many cases, harsher and more profane than those on the petition page.
Both District Attorney Scott Thomas and Spruill, owner of the donkeys, are familiar with the petition site. Thomas said the petition’s effect would be negligible.
“Felony cruelty to animals cases are serious and we will treat these cases as such,” he said. But, “while we appreciate the public interest and input in the form of the online petition, our prosecution decisions must be made based upon the facts, law and admissible evidence.”
North Carolina has a structured sentencing law that allows only limited freedom for a judge assigning sentences. Those sentences are primarily based on the level of the crime and the previous records of the defendants.
Thomas added that the victims, in this case the Spruills, are also given the opportunity to make an impact statement to the judge at the time of sentencing. This statement could have an effect on such things as determining mitigating and extenuating circumstances in the crime.
Financial restitution, such as the monetary value of the animals, is also considered.
Thomas noted that “neither defendant has prior convictions.” Under structured sentencing, the maximum sentence for each count is 6 to 17 months in prison. If sentenced consecutively, this could amount to as much as 51 months, or a little over four years time. However, Thomas noted, this “is in a category of punishment that can be anywhere from probation to an active sentence.”
Spruill, who is an animal control officer in the county, said his wife had just become aware of the petition. He does not believe the petition should weigh on the court’s actions.
“You let the court system do what it does,” he said. “Is it perfect? No. Do you always get what you want? No. But it’s the best that we have.”
He has to say that. If you piss off the DA, they'll shaft you out of spite.
He noted that, while they are still upset over the crime, “I’m not wanting to cut their heads off or anything.”
Still, “I certainly do want them to get punishment.”
Spruill said that he has been visited by an assistant DA who talked about restitution which alone, he said, would not be enough. “You can buy more donkeys,” he said, “but they’re not Pete and Pearl and Peanut. I want that to sink into their heads.”
Besides, he added, acts of animal cruelty are often a danger sign.
“I know personally of four or five cases,” he said, “that were swept under the rug or the parents bought them out,” he said. Those cases “escalated to murder,” he said, and the people involved are now serving time.
“I don’t want them to escalate to that,” Spruill said of the Reelsboro boys. “Let’s nip this in the bud.”
He wants a sentence that will help turn them around, he said. “I hope they’ll be productive citizens.”
(NJ.com - Feb 18, 2016)
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