Dallas man sentenced to four years in dog's death

[douglas9]

Source: Houston Chronicle/Associated Press

DALLAS — A man convicted of animal cruelty in the fatal torture of his 10-month-old dog was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday.

Deshawn Brown, 22, was found guilty Thursday of animal cruelty. The dog, named Mercy by caregivers, died 10 days after she was stabbed, doused in an accelerant and set on fire in April 2006.

Prosecutors said Brown was angry because the pit bull mix would not breed.

Brown could have been sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5174320.html#

[Mythsaje]

1. Gawd, could you imagine going to prison for animal abuse?

There are a lot of fairly hardcore people who wouldn't take too kindly to that sort of thing.

[tuckessee]

10. People abusers abusing animal abusers. n/t

[Myrina]

16. ... Careful, I got slammed on a Vick thread for suggesting the same ...

The purity police were out in force that day, I guess ... :eyes:

[rpannier]

2. Needs to be in jail

Needs serious counseling

He may never make it out of prison. I'm not advocating anyone killing him, but he best watch his back.

[Richard Steele]

3. Needs to be kept away from human society for a lot longer than 4 years.

People treat animals the way they would treat other
people if they could get away with it.

[blondie58]

4. he should have received the maximum sentence

or at the very least, why don't we do the same thing to him? Yeah, stab him, douse him in accelerant and light him on fire. Now, that might be a deterrent to people.

[navarth]

14. amen

He totally deserves that. The problem: I couldn't do that to him unless I was in the rage of catching him in the act.

The only solution: drop him in a deep hole.

[High Plains]

22. How positively Old Testament of you.

Now, take a deep breath, go for a walk, relax.

[mitchum]

5. That fucking monster got off lightly...

I really don't care what misfortune may befall him

[OneBlueSky]

6. crimes of violence against children and animals infuriate me because . . .

the helplessness of the victims and their trust of adults . . . both children and animals offer us nothing but unconditional love (even when we don't think we deserve it) and want nothing in return except our affection . . . so when we hear of heinous crimes against childen or animals, our protective genes kick in and we want nothing more than to protect them . . . and we know that we can't . . .

I've been a strong opponent of the death penalty for as long as I can remember -- easily 40 years or more . . . yet when I read that story about the young girl used in porn videos -- and saw her picture -- all I could think was "this bastard needs to fry!" . . . similarly, when I read stories like this one that involve abject cruelty to animals, my initial reaction is also "fry the bastard!" . . .

no, I am not equating crimes against animals with crimes against children . . . I'm just pointing out why I believe we react so stongly to both . . . it's because they can't . . .

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

7. It is also helpful to remember:

Serial Killers, according to the FBI, start with the killing and torture of animals. This kind of behavior should never go ignored, if you know what's good for you and everyone else.

[nutshell2002]

12. Exactly.

This is depraved sociopathic behavior.

[varkam]

8. Well I don't think he needs to die or be tortured...

But I will say I think it is fairly clear he needs some sort of counseling as well as some sort of punishment (hence the jail term). It takes a special kind of crazy to do something like that.

[Akoto]

9. Good. He needs to be there and to get some help. n/t

[Pavulon]

11. Sounds about right

4 years he will never get back. Prison will not be a fun thing for this person..

[everydayis911]

13. He should have got 10 years

Studies show that if you can be cruel to animals people are the next step. If he gets out alive they better keep a good watch on him. What they should do is stab him and douse him with alcohol. I think anybody who is found guilty of child molestation should get life. Killing a child should be the death penalty. And in some cases if the DNA is everywhere and the scumbag said he did it I think 3 judges should decide if he gets life or death. Why should the family have to go through a trial and now he proclaims his innocence and some scumbag defense attorney will try and set him free. The Samantha Runnion case is a good example here in California. I don't think he said he did it but his DNA was everywhere and her DNA was in his car. No need for a trial there, I trust 3 judges will come to the right verdict. Why make the family suffer more.

[rainbow4321]

17. Local animal advocate groups had asked...

the sentence be 1 yr for every day that Mercy lived in pain (before she died) after the incident...10 days = 10 yrs.
The news said last night that the creep could be out in as little as 2 years.

[zonkers]

15. Good for you, Texas. That is the longest sentence I can remember in an animal abuse case.

[Vidar]

18. Not nearly long enough, but a step in the right direction.

[samsingh]

19. he should have been sentenced to more

but 4 years is a strong message.

what a fucking bastard.

[Feral Libertarian]

20. Most abusers

start with animals. This is one sicko, but perhaps this will prevent future abuse of children or women.

[provis99]

23. well Bush used to torture frogs as a kid

And he didn't turn out to be any kind of serial killer. Oh, wait...

[Honeycombe8]

21. I was hoping he'd get the full 10 years. 4 yrs is better than nothing, I guess.

This was a felony. I've been following this case (it happened in my area). It is horrific what this guy did to his dog.

One juror was excused from duty, and replaced by an alternate, after she broke down and said she couldn't take it (hearing about what he did to the dog).

The dog, Mercy, a pit bull, mercifully died, despite massive vet efforts to get her healed. She died a horrible, suffering death, although at the end at least she had people around her to comfort her.

This guy is a demon. You think he shouldn't have been jailed for this? If it makes you feel better, then think about this: Stats show that criminals who are violent and cruel to people began by being violent and cruel to animals.

I won't go into detail what he did to her. Suffice to say...it was horrific.