Brothers hog-tie, burn puppy to death for fun

Veterinarians' Action ^ | 9/11/06

[pabianice]

Seeking Felony Indictment for Puppy’s Torturous Death

Target: Paul Howard, DA, Fulton County District Attorney

Joshua Molder, age 17, and brother Justin have been accused of Aggravated Cruelty to an animal and two other charges, and are currently jailed without bond. This petition, however, is focused on the Aggravated Cruelty charge.

ATLANTA -- Two Atlanta brothers are in custody at the Fulton County jail charged with the torture death of a five-month old puppy and trashing a local apartment complex. Seventeen-year old Joshua Molder and 18-year old Justin Molder are being held without bond. The Molder brothers stand accused of covering a puppy with paint, hog tying it, trying to set it on fire and when that didn't work, baking the puppy to death in an oven. Inez Marshal is president of the community association at the Englewood Manor Apartments in southeast Atlanta where Joshua and Justin Molder lived. She was called to the rec center the night the brothers were arrested for breaking into the newly remodeled building and trashing it. "They just totally demolished the community center," said Marshal. She said she'll never forget finding the puppy the boys stand accused of torturing and killing. "He was still in the oven; he was tied," said Marshal. "All four feet were tied together, his mouth was duct taped and he was dipped in beige paint," she added. "Not only did they not have an explanation, apparently they went out and bragged about this to other young people in the community, brought them back and showed them their work," said District Attorney Paul Howard. The Moulder brothers are charged with burglary, criminal damage to property and aggravated cruelty to animals.

We ask that the DA of Fulton County, Paul Howard or the attorney assigned to this case, aggressively seek indictment of a felony for this heinous criminal act based on the Anti-Cruelty Statutes of Georgia:

16-12-4. Cruelty to animals c) A person commits the offense of aggravated cruelty to animals when he or she knowingly and maliciously causes death or physical harm to an animal by rendering a part of such animal's body useless or by seriously disfiguring such animal. A person convicted of the offense of aggravated cruelty to animals shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, a fine not to exceed $15,000.00, or both, provided that any person who is convicted of a second or subsequent violation of this subsection shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years, a fine not to exceed the amount provided by Code Section 17-10-8, or both.

[B-Chan]

The death penalty is not justifiable unless there are no other means to keep the community safe from predators in any given case. In this case, I think a sound public flogging with a rattan cane for each of the perps would be appropriate, followed by 3-5 years hard labor on a county work gang.

[RobRoy]

>>Most animals are F O O D - we simply chose to make pets out of some - others EAT them!<<

That sums it up nicely.

I must admit that I am concerned about the mental stability of an older person who takes pleasure in causing animals to suffer. It is not that I am the least bit concerned for the animal - they are merely food - but that he does it means he has issues that are keeping him from enjoying a prosperous life.

Also, what is the implication in the simple fact that virtually ALL youngsters that do this sort of thing are male? Most would agree that a girl that does this is REALLY acting outside the norm.

[RobRoy]

>>People in this country have rights, which some people here seem to have forgotten.<<

But what about the rights of the poor defenseless puppy?!!! Does he not have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?! </sarcasm>

Oops. I just realized governments protect the rights and property of PEOPLE, not animals. So that starling I saw being slowly crushed to death in a tree in downtown Seattle by the cruel falcon was no more protected by the government than that puppy should have been. That is, unless the puppy was somebody elses PROPERTY. Then the government may step in to protect a HUMAN BEING from loss of property.

People need to get a grip here. Perspective is a wonderful thing.

[AmericaUnite]

The Max on each offense.

[aimee5291]

Please contact DA Paul Howard to urge the stiffest penalty possible...

Fulton County District Attorneys Office
136 Pryor Street, SW, Third Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303
Phone: (404) 730-4981 Fax: (404) 730-4785
Customer Service (404) 730-4887

nicole.vaughn@co.fulton.ga.us is the email contact.

[Raymann]

Thank you!!! Someone here has some notion of rights and the role of government.

[rogue yam]

Kill them now before they move on to humans.

Given their age and the fact that they bragged about what they did, it is a near-certainty that these two young men will lead lives of violence and crime.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

JJ and the "rev" Al will come to their defense. White privilige, institutional racism did it.

[greenthumbedislndr]

Sorry for getting off topic but I have a question:
now that I read all this I'm wondering about something. We cook crabs and lobsters live... not because we like to torture them, but that's how we're told they're supposed to be cooked. I know a crab is not a puppy, but I suppose they also feel pain if you thow them in a pot of water. What's the justification for that? I'm not a Peta person, I'm just trying to understand things. And No I won't stop eating crab, but if I could prepare them in a way that doesn't inflict as much pain, I think I would feel better. Some people freeze them first, but that can't be too pleasant either.

[Publius6961]

You are focusing on the animal rather than the perp, and missing the entire point.
No one is arguing that puppies have "rights", or that it is the equivalent of a human being, but

Anyone who slowly deliberately and consciously tortures and kills a mammal larger than a rat, is not only capable of killing a human, but quite often does exactly that.

[RobRoy]

Animals do not feel "pain" the way people do, although PETA kooks would disagree with me. The Bible tells me all I need to know about how to treat people AND animals. Animals are to be treated humanely for EXACTLY the same reasons you change the oil in your car or flush your radiator: you get better service from your property and tools when you take care of them. There is no moral aspect.

That said, a kid that does this kind of stuff REPEATEDLY needs to be watched by his parents. There may be a serious problem in the making - or not. Time will tell.

[ProudCopperhead]

(rattan cane)

Fine by me.

I hear there isn't much spray painted graffiti in Singapore.

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

I can hear the mother now "my boys are good boys they wouldn't do anything like this."
And the father, what father?

[antiRepublicrat]

Where's Rev. Al? What about Jesse? Who's going to defend these poor oppressed children?

I guess the dog wasn't white.

[antiRepublicrat]

I think a light jail sentence combined with hundreds of hours of service(in dog shelter, etc) should do it.

That's not a bad idea. A thousand hours of cleaning up after dogs should keep them off the streets for a while, and the shelters could definitely use the help. Then probation for at least 10 years.

[Raymann]

You’re right, I am. That is the only way to morally and legality look at this. Say it was a rat, what’s the difference, humans are the only sentient animals on this planet and the law should only apply to violations of rights which only humans have.

None of you have any proof whatsoever that these kids have any plans or even the inclination to harm other people. I don’t know about you but I COULD NOT even pretend to put animals in ANY mental category as humans and that naturally extends to my treatment of them. I’ve hunted animals and I’ve slaughtered them on a farm (honestly I became pretty creative when it came to killing chickens) but that in NO WAY correlates into how I would treat other people (except terrorists, they go into my animal category).

Yes they killed a dog in a horrible way, fact is a lot of people had a little sadist streak in them when they were younger and NOTHING came of it.

IT WAS A DOG FOR CHRIST’S SAKE!!!

[antiRepublicrat]

They should get very serious punishment,

I agree with an earlier poster. We should adopt public lashing for many offenses.

[School of Rational Thought]

Scary. With people like TimesDomain and Sagar presumably on the streets, is it any wonder why people feel the need to arm themselves?

[Publius6961]

BUMP!

[freeangel]

And the parent(s) have what to say about them? I haven't heard a thing, although I'm sure they will blame it on the educational system for not teaching these boys the "right stuff."