Sentencing set in cat killing

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20090811/NEWS01/708119907

Neb. teen faces sentencing for killing cat

LINCOLN (AP) -- A teenager faces sentencing in October for helping his buddy kill a cat.

Andrew Kratz, 17, of Eagle, pleaded no contest to the animal-cruelty charge in Lancaster County Juvenile Court.

His friend Jacob Weichel of rural Lincoln denied the allegation on Monday. He faces trial next month.

Weichel is accused of shooting the cat with a bow and arrow on March 13. The arrow went through the cat but didn't kill it. Kratz is accused of picking up the cat by its tail and slamming it against a picnic table, then dropping a log on it.

Authorities say a brother of one of the teens used his cell-phone camera to record the incident, which was seen by several students at Waverly High School.

[tularetom]

1. Hang his ass

I'm not kidding either.

[Armchair QB]

2. He should do at least as much time as Mike Vick did

h

[ZombieHorde]

8. Vick tortured many animals, this kid tortured one.

Both crimes were horrendous and disturbing, but I believe the quantity of a crime often figures into the punishment.

[Armchair QB]

10. I think if you torture and murder a defenseless animal for fun

the quantity doesn't make one bit of difference.

[ZombieHorde]

14. Are you speaking legally, ethically, or both?

I believe quantity does matter on a legal level.

Ethically is obviously more open for debate.

[Armchair QB]

17. Both. I realize the law may say different but I see little difference

in murdering 1 defenseless animal for fun, than murdering 2 or more.

Animals have no voice, they are virtually defenseless against humans who intend them harm. I'm not advocating the death penalty or a 10 year sentence but, 5 years is certainly reasonable (with time off most only serve about 3)

[peace13]

3. Eye for an eye...we better get that bow out!

I get in trouble when I say that some of these video games blur the lines of reality but....yes, that is what I am saying. These poor sick kids.

[Eyerish]

4. Sweet zombie jesus....

What the hell is going on?!? This is absolutely horrific. At least they were stupid enough to let it be recorded.

[veganlush]

5. but everytime we eat a pig or other animal raised in a factory

..farm, we are condoning and supporting animal torture.

[closeupready]

7. Assuming that's logically correct, consumers almost never know factory-raised from farm-raised.

So you can't just say, blanket, every time, because if you knew it was factory-raised, you'd have the option of declining to consume it.

[csziggy]

11. You can assume that if it is not marked "free range" it is factory raised

Plus the free range meats will be more expensive than factory raised - by a significant amount.

I use "free range" rather than "farm raised" because "farm raised" is used for farmed fish which are the aquatic version of factory raised.

In the past I have bought the cheapest meats, but I am changing my thinking on this. I am eating a lot less meat these days, so I think when I empty my freezer of what is there now, I will look into buying locally grown free range meat.

[closeupready]

13. I also have been eating less meat. And I am more finicky about

what kinds of meat and how it is treated. I can't go veggie because that makes me anemic, but I eat a lot less than I used to. I prefer halal or kosher.

[Kali]

15. oh bullshit

CFOs aren't ideal but it isn't fucking torture.

[man4allcats]

6. It's a good thing for these guys that, not being a

Nebraska resident myself, I am ineligible to be a juror in their cases. They wouldn't like my sentencing recommendation, but one thing's for sure. If the judge saw fit to impose that recommendation, they would never torture another animal.

[Becky72]

9. He will get about 1 year in jail

That seems to be the norm in these cases.

[csziggy]

12. I don't care how much time he spends in jail - how much psychiatric evaluation will he get?

I want him checked to see if he is safe to be out in society and want him to have as much counseling as possible to help him learn to live to societal norms.

Problem is, if he is a true psychopath, he will just learn how to mask his behavior so he seems normal on the surface but stays dangerous. I'm thinking "Ted Bundy."

[Kali]

16. seems to me he was killing an injured animal

the guy that shot it is the torturer, sounds like this guy (while he probably shouldn't have even been there) at least finished the job.

Of course while they mention recording the event, there is no way without seeing the recording to tell what the "mood" was, whether he was laughingly joining in and continuing the torture or if he was perhaps panicky that it was not dead and was trying to put it down.

I can see at least two possibilities.

[northernlights]

18. picking up a badly wounded someone and slamming

them against a picnic table isn't torture? Dropping a log on the badly wounded someone, beating them to death with a log isn't torture?

Then I supposed that the prisoners who were grabbed by the arm and slammed headfirst into walls at Abu Graib weren't tortured either? Just "humanely euthanized" one slam at a time?

Oh, wait. And you wrote above that being raised on a factory farm isn't torture either.

I suggest you try any of the above.


You can leave out the arrow, and just be slammed into a solid object, and then beaten with a log.

Or you can spend a week or so living in factory farm conditions.

Then report back on how that wasn't torture.

:eyes:

[Kali]

19. not having gas or injectable anesthetics or a gun

leaves the choice of crushing

head slamming a person with intent to injure, rather than kill is a little different than crushing a small wounded animal's head with a log.

you may be right - it may have been slammed and beaten with intent to torture, but the facts aren't clear - I saw the POSSIBILITY that he tried to kill it as quickly as possible - the table slam may not have worked.

This is all very gruesome, but I saw the possibility and commented on it. I have had to put animals down that were severely injured and when you don't have the proper equipment a rock or log will do.

I feel urban living is about as close to factory farming as it gets - do you consider that torture?

Do you actually know anything about livestock feeding? Or are these just regurgitated talking points from peta?