Free Republic

KULPMONT -- One day after being horribly mauled by a bullmastiff in an alley off Chestnut Street on Sunday afternoon, 9-year-old Amanda Smith was in critical, but stable condition, in a medically induced coma at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. Jody Cervantes, a cousin of Jennifer Smith, Amanda's mother, said, "From the dog attack, Amanda suffered multiple fractures, her sinuses were torn out, her skull was punctured, jaw broken and the bridge of her nose ripped away." With Smith at the time, and also mauled by the same dog, was another 9-year-old, a neighbor from across the street, who was...

Our dogs were more like comedians than commandos. They showed zero unwarranted aggression towards people and pooches. They had amazing discernment, insane athletic ability and undaunted courage. This breed impacted me so much I wrote a book about their magnificent spirit (go to amazon.com The Bulldog Attitude). As far as I’m concerned, the Pit Bull is one of the most awesome animals on the planet. And before hype hit the fan, and the local news needed fresh chum for the gullible ones and the pimps and thugs became the owners of this noble animal, The United States of America thought...

San Francisco -- The California Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to review the murder conviction of a San Francisco attorney whose dogs fatally mauled a neighbor in the hallway of an apartment building here. The six justices unanimously agreed to review a May appellate court ruling that reinstated Marjorie Knoller's second-degree murder conviction. Superior Court Judge James Warren had vacated the jury's murder verdict and reduced the conviction to manslaughter. The 1st District Court of Appeal, in reinstating the murder conviction, said Warren erroneously concluded that in order for Knoller to be convicted of murder, she had to know that one...

An 8-year-old boy was mauled to death this afternoon on a Sunset District street by his family's two pit bulls, San Francisco police said.

D.A. 'Shocked;' Lesser Charges Upheld Against Knoller, Noel A San Francisco judge on Monday threw out a second-degree murder conviction against Marjorie Knoller in the 2001 dog mauling that killed a neighbor but refused to grant a new trial on involuntary manslaughter convictions against Knoller and her husband, Robert Noel. Superior Court Judge James Warren said Knoller and Noel are likely the most despised couple in San Francisco, calling the couple's conduct with their dogs "despicable." But he said that he doesn't think Knoller could have known when she took the dogs out on the day of the attack that...

Looks like they are ready to go to court now..

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jurors deliberating in the San Francisco dog mauling trial sent word Wednesday that they reached verdicts on four of the five charges and wanted to adjourn until Thursday to consider the last count. The judge ordered an immediate hearing on the request and the defendants were brought to court. The request came late on the second day of deliberations, after the panel had listened to a reading of testimony, including sections of one defendant's testimony to the grand jury that issued indictments in the case. Behind closed doors, a court...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After weeks of gruesome testimony that ended with a description of the victim's strangled cries, a jury began deliberations on Tuesday on whether a San Francisco couple should be held liable after their attack dogs savagely killed a young neighbor woman. Photos Reuters Photo Slideshows Audio/Video (AP) "Ladies and gentlemen, the administration of justice is in your hands," Judge James Warren said, concluding a trial that has both shocked and gripped the country. The seven-man, five-woman panel was given the case against Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel after prosecutor Jim Hammer recounted the last minutes of...