Post by editorialist12 on Sept 16, 2016 17:51:48 GMT -8
In connection with the upcoming trial of the man who left a woman a chilling voicemail that he tortured and killed her dog here in Richmond, Va which is scheduled for October 25th, I am concerned that Virginia anti cruelty laws are not strong enough to make an impression on people like this to stop their continued abuse of animals. In that capacity I have found a petition to our Governor asking him to push for legislation passed in Connecticut known as
Desmond's law which would increase the rate of convictions and provide harsher penalties for animal abusers, and would allow abused cats and dogs to have legal representation in court by volunteer lawyers and Connecticut law school students, at no cost to the state. We need to ask our governor to press for passage of such a law here in Virginia.
You can contact the governor by clicking on this link: governor.virginia.gov/constituen...rs-office/
Here is a sample letter you can contact him with:
Dear Gov. McAuliffe,
It is very important to me that perpetrators of animal cruelty be convicted of their crimes and receive the maximum penalties according to law. Far too often, animal cruelty cases are dismissed, allowing violent individuals to walk free and providing no justice for the abused animals. JUST TAKE THE ONGOING TRIAL TO BE HELD THIS OCTOBER 25TH about the man who leaves a woman a chilling voicemail that he tortured, killed her dog and arrested by Richmond police and charged with animal cruelty posted 2:01 pm, August 30, 2016, by Alix Bryan and Sandra Jones, of CBSChannel 6 TV.
There is a vast amount of evidence revealing a link between animal abuse and violence toward human beings. A recent Huffington Post article cites several studies confirming the connection between animal and human abuse. For example, between 71% of 83% of women entering domestic violence shelters stated that their partners had abused or killed family pets. In families that were monitored for child-abuse, pet abuse occurred in 88% of the homes. And of seven school shootings that occurred between 1997 and 2001, all perpetrators had previously abused animals.
To increase the rate of convictions and provide harsher penalties for animal abusers, the Connecticut State Legislature recently passed Desmond’s Law- a bill that allows abused cats and dogs to have legal representation in court by volunteer lawyers and Connecticut law school students, at no cost to the state.AND I AM NOW CALLING UPON YOU to introduce legislation similar to Desmond’s Law in the state of Virginia.
The bill’s namesake, Desmond, was a 4-year-old pit bull who had been surrendered to a Connecticut animal shelter. A volunteer favorite, "Sweet Baby Desmond" greeted everyone with kisses and a wagging tail. Tragically and unbeknownst to the shelter workers, Alex Wullaert adopted Desmond only to take revenge on his girlfriend, Desmond’s former owner. Wullaert repeatedly and violently beat, starved, and eventually strangled this innocent and loving animal to death. He was sentenced only to accelerated rehabilitation, and his record is now clean. Cases similar to Desmond’s are occurring across the country.
Desmond’s Law will establish a program that provides a volunteer advocate from a list of attorneys and law students with knowledge of the psychology of animal cruelty to represent abused animals, free of charge. Advocates will have access to records regarding the animal and will make recommendations to the court, bringing faster resolution to cases and resulting in more just outcomes. Judges will now have "the whole story," as the full extent of the atrocities committed by animal abusers will be revealed.
I strongly urge you to introduce legislation similar to Desmond’s Law in Virginia. Please allow animals like Desmond representation in court, not only to provide abused animals with justice, but also to protect all of society from violent and dangerous individuals AND BY DOING SO IT WILL PREVENT CASES LIKE THE ABOVE FROM HAPPENING IN OUR STATE.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Virginia and Richmond residents please show up at the court case in Richmond on October 25th which will be held at Richmond Manchester General District Court, 920 Hull Street, Richmond, Va 23224 at 9:30 AM. You are requested to wear black clothes.