Is this another rising from the dead?
Posted on 05/18/2005 8:14:29 PM PDT by sinkspur
Denton: Jury says man's record, behavior led to maximum sentence
DENTON – The man who taped a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever's mouth shut in July, causing the dog's death from heatstroke, will serve two years in state jail, a Denton County jury decided Wednesday.
"What he did was an unbelievably cruel act, and he deserved to be punished," lead prosecutor Tony Paul said after the trial.
Richard Swift, 43, of The Colony was convicted Wednesday morning of animal cruelty. Jurors decided on the maximum jail sentence allowed and fined him $5,000, half the maximum.
Some jurors said the crime combined with Mr. Swift's six previous criminal convictions – including manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and assault causing bodily injury – played a role in their decision.
"In the past, he's been given numerous chances to rehabilitate himself," juror Jon Burkhart said.
Mr. Swift was not eligible for probation because he once had probation revoked after he tested positive for marijuana and cocaine, prosecutors told jurors.
Derek Adame, Mr. Swift's attorney, said he was let down by the verdict and sentencing.
"You're always disappointed when things don't go your way," Mr. Adame said. "But I understand what they did and why they did it."
During his closing arguments, Mr. Adame conceded that Mr. Swift caused the death of the dog, Bull, but said that it was not intentional.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
To suggest that a 43 year old man in Texas doesn't know that a dog needs to pant to live, is ridiculous. I've known that since I've known what dogs are.
Thank You!
Puhleeeez!!! That's not even worthy of the time and effort it would take to respond.
He deserves to be punished for torturing the dog. His priors may not have anything to do with it and being a jerk may not be punishable, but being a psychopath does. He taped the dogs mouth shut to get back at someone he was pissed at. Typical paranoid psychotic speed freak behavior. He's fried his brain with speed. Prison is, likely, the only environment that he is suited for anymore.
"How about this guy has to do 3 years every saturday 8 hours at a shelter for animals(under supervision). Something more productive and less costly to the tax payers."
I agree with you, at least to a certain extent, but something tells me this guy would not be welcome at an animal shelter - probably comparable to putting child molestors in with the general population in a prison. I know I'd be tempted to knock a few of his teeth out.
I wouldn't count on that being spared thing......I've known too many county jail frequenters. It's entirely possible that he might become someone's girlfriend, if not their punching bag. Maybe they'll hold a pillow over his face until he almost passes out, just for a little bit of payback. County can be a pretty brutal place sometimes. Sometimes the jailers are dog lovers and might just be scarce at the right time......or the wrong time, depending on how you look at it..... maybe they might turn their head for a minute or two..... It don't just happen in the movies.
Same thing happens to those "gently sentenced" chid molesters. They get treated pretty badly in the short time that they have to spend there. It's not like going to summer camp.
I agree.
I think he should have to clean animal pens (under supervision) at the local aspca every weekend for 2 years.
Perhaps if you read the posts that led up to that one, you'd get the joke.
BTW, why are you resurrecting a year-old thread to ask me a question you could have answered yourself by reading?
Here's what I'm thinking:
1. You're reading posts that are nearly a year old.
2. You say my comment isn't worth responding to, but in your next post you respond to it anyway.
3. In your response, you go on an on, but never say why a dog should get better treatment than a hamster, which is the core of my post.
After all that do you really want me to take you seriously?
Is this another rising from the dead?
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