Boys accused of stoning cat won't be prosecuted By KEVIN MORAN Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle GALVESTON -- Six boys accused of stoning a cat to death in an alley in October will not be prosecuted on felony animal cruelty charges, officials said Thursday. Instead, the boys will have to write 20-page reports on the value of pets and other animals to humans, attend school regularly and stay out of trouble until classes end May 29, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said. "This is not to say that those boys didn't kill the cat," Sistrunk said. "We have that evidence." Once the boys write and submit their papers to his office, they also will have to attend a session in the courthouse at which they will view a video presentation created by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sistrunk said. Meanwhile, Galveston Police Chief Bob Pierce said Thursday that two of about a half-dozen officers who helped round up the boys on Oct. 20 have been reprimanded, one for using profane language during the incident and one for allowing a teen police cadet to help in apprehending the boys. The teen was riding with an officer as part of a youth program. The boys, who are black and were 10 and 11 years old at the time, were arrested after a midtown resident reported them stoning a live cat that was hanging by one leg from a wooden alley fence. The boys' parents have maintained that the cat already was dead when the boys found it. The person who called police told investigators that the cat was screaming as the boys tossed rocks at it. Parents also claimed that one officer used a racial slur while the boys were being taken into custody, but Pierce said an investigation by a black police captain and Pierce's own review of the case turned up no evidence that any officer used a racial slur. In a letter to Pierce, Sistrunk said the police investigation of the incident was thorough. Sistrunk said veterinarians who examined the dead cat found no broken bones and no signs of severe bruising. However, the veterinarians said even cats killed when run over by cars often bear no signs of such injuries, Sistrunk said. Any boy who fails to fulfill the requirements will be prosecuted, Sistrunk said. Because of their ages, the boys would face up to a year's probation each if convicted, Sistrunk said. Kurt Sistrunk is a sissy DA and the residents of Galveston County should be ashamed of this wuss. 20 page paper my ***! http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1798560
I would kick the living **** out of them and their parents if I would have seen them doing that. Picking on the helpless is like giong down on the devil.
I don't know if I'm more offended by the actual act or the DA shrugging it off even though he has evidence. I think he's scared if he pursued the case further, Quannel X or some other moron would come to the aid of the parents and call Galveston County racist.
20 PAGES? Someone's pet, a cat that they very well have raised from a kitten, gets STONED to death and the "accused" get 20 PAGES? Being the owner of 3 cats (they're stupid as all get out, but they're mine LOL) I may not be objective, but for crying out loud I've done research papers longer than that on books, and I didn't even commit bloodshed to get stuck with them! This is a rediculous punishment for a FELONY crime. Sistrunk is a pansy and Galveston county residents oughta be ashamed of their DA. As for those kids, it'll be interesting in a scientific sense to see if any (and how many) get arrested for violent crimes later in life.
Genuinely, I think if I had been one of the cops aprehending the boys I would have been guilty of crimes much greater than "use of profane language". Right now I'm genuinely suppressing the urge to hunt down these sadistic little miscreants and kick their @ss. The only thing more disturbing to me is the rationalization by their parrents that "the cat was already dead". Good sound parenting there. When the kids you've raised are so devoid of basic empathy that the place you in some cut-rate discount nursing home where the guards beat you for fun and steal your meds, feel free to look back on this moment as the cause. You will be getting what your deserve.
The least they could've done is send them to boot camp. All writing a long report will do is hurt their hand, not their ass.
What if it was a possum, squirrel or a grass snake etc. and not a cat? Would the outcry be a big? I don't know sh*t about animal cruelity laws... Just wondering.
10 year old boys know the difference between stoning a snake and a pet cat. I am not a pet person, but this kind of behavior is a terrible omen for the future of these boys. They are exhibiting cold, amoral, and apathic behavior that will be big trouble for their community one day if left unchecked. A 20 page paper is not the answer, in my opinion.
And I don't see how kicking the living sh*t out of them or sending them to boot camp would make them learn to respect life. It might make them think twice before breaking the law, but the root problem is still there.
Yeah, I think these pet lovers who want to beat people for mistreating strange animals are a bit extreme. I don't think some form of boot camp is bad idea though. The root problem is no doubt a complete lack of respect for life in general, and low self esteem. The right kind of boot camp might address these problems well.
