Woman gets three days of bread and water for neglecting horses

[PfcHammer]

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/2614890

Woman gets three days of bread and water for neglecting horses
Former owner to spend 30 days in jail
By ANDREW TILGHMAN
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

A 28-year-old Baytown woman convicted of neglecting her horses will begin a 30-day jail sentence with three days of bread and water, courtesy of Harris County Criminal Court at Law Judge Mike Peters.

"She's going to get more than her horses got," Peters said Monday, after signing off on the unusual jail terms for Melissa Dawn Sweeney.

Sweeney was convicted last Friday on two counts of cruelty to animals for severely neglecting the two horses she kept outside her trailer home in Baytown. Each of the misdemeanor charges could have landed her in jail for up to a year.

Instead, Peters sentenced her Monday to 30 days in the Harris County Jail, with the stipulation that for the first three, she must endure his judicially imposed diet of bread and water.

[demnan]

1. Brilliant!

I like that Judge! Anyone showing cruelty via neglect to animals deserves a little neglect themselves.

[gatlingforme]

2. I love it. She should get the max of 1yr in jail and made to eat

Alpo dog food. Animal abuse is disgusting. and she is a sick person.
I hate calling a woman a bitch, but she is one.

[Branjor]

17. Disgusting and sick....

should be sufficient to describe her. What about a man that does the same thing? Is he better than her? So why should you use an extra word to excoriate her which you would not also use on him?

[TahitiNut]

46. I'd rather see her get 30 days in jail plus one year of community service.

I'm sure there are stables that need mucking out and horses that need grooming and feeding (police or sheriff's horses?) - under strict supervision, of course, and with extensions for unsatisfactory service.

[Redhead488]

3. Way to go, Judge!

[jdj]

28. Wow! Jim Boller from "Animal Cops, Houston" on

Animal Planet was one of the investigators.

These folks are awesome. I have seen them prosecute many animal abusers on this show but I have never heard a judge impose a bread and water sentence. Rest assured that the animals have to be just about DEAD for anyone to get a jail sentence for animal cruelty, so this must have been one of their worst cases. I guess if I had to see what these people see every day, I could understand the sentence better. I personally think she should be made to serve the year, and these should be FELONIES, not misdemeanors.

[johncoby2]

4. And they wonder why

Republicans are called mean spirited.

This isn't mean spirited. It is just plain hate full. The crime she did is inexcusable, but the old eye for an eye mentality ends up like a former Iraqi prison with condoning torture and abuse.

I can not stand cruelty to animals. It is absolutely disgusting, but we are suppose to be better than animals, and much better than republicans.

[gatlingforme]

5. I do not understand your post.? eye for eye? Please.

[johncoby2]

7. eye for an eye

It means that if you make someone blind, your punishment should be to be blind. If you kill someone, you die. If you main someone you are maimed.

And eye for an eye society leaves us all blind. (Something Jesse Jackson said)

The point I am making is that once we start deviating from the law, then we will soon be justifying chopping off someones hands for stealing.

Once we start tolerating this mentality, we begin justifying the torture and humiliation at the Iraqi prisons.

[Redhead488]

10. From what law did the judge "deviate?"

Sounds like a just punishment to me. Bread and water for three days is not torture or humiliation.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. To what degree is "weird" punishment legal?

Like, if I punch a mime in the face, can I be sentenced to paint my face white and not talk for N days while in jail?

[johncoby2]

11. And once we start that.....

We become republicans. Mean spirited. Hatefull. Republicans.

[kimchi]

18. JJ was quoting Gandhi. n/t

[truthseeker1]

24. Actually, it was Ghandi

who said, "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind."

[lightbulb]

25. johncoby2 is the voice of reason here

The idea of denying a prisoner a basic necessity such as nutritious food for any period of time is not compatible with what was once known as the American concept of justice. It's pure vigilanteism (however benign), which is traditionally the domain of the Freepers. It's unsettling to see such a proclivity for it here at DU.

[Castilleja]

49. Much agreed,

What this woman did was bad, sure enough, but some of the attitudes here are equally repellent... Rise to a higher level, people.

[Redhead488]

6. Eye for an eye?

How about just punishing her for wrongdoing? Even Democrats believe in punishment.

[johncoby2]

8. totally agree

I don't think the 365 days are adequate. This was a horrible crime to these animals. She should have gotten a harder sentence.

You do have to wonder about being allowed to take care of her children.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

35. Well, you see...

people wouldn't have their kinky punishism porn if the judge had just stipulated jail/fine/comunity service. Missionary position gets boring!

[demnan]

9. Please!

Bread and water for three days is not going to hurt her.

[crossroads]

33. I disagree, she ... should... be made to know what 'hungry' feels like...

This woman was a stable hand - she *knew* those animals were hungry... she should be made to feel hungry too, IMO! I wonder if she also cares for her children properly, for if one neglects an animal like she did, they can't have compassion or care for anything living! Three days with bread and water is not cruel, it is justified in this case!

:argh:

[RememberTheCoup]

37. but she's not going to be made to feel 'hungry'

so it doesn't really serve its intended purpose, does it? All it does is set a very dangerous precedent.

[TexasMexican]

38. "Dangerous Precedent."

:wtf:

How is "bread and water," a dangerous precedent?

And besides, the precedent has already been made, criminals throughout history have been given bread and water.

[RememberTheCoup]

40. I have no objection to the water.

But a bread-only diet is a deprivation diet. It is not a balanced, healthy diet. And I don't like food being used as a tool for punishment. What if they start using this technique on protesters?

[TexasMexican]

42. handing bread and water to protesters?

:P

[RememberTheCoup]

43. Ha ha.

But please answer the question. Or didn't you know that protesters can be arrested in Bush's America?

[TexasMexican]

47. yeah ofcourse they could be

on whatever the local authorities decide to arrest them on.

However from what I hear most of them only spend like a day in jail or whatever, so I dont think bread and water for a day is that bad, if anything I probably wouldnt feel too hungry being put in jail and I would hope my bill would be cheaper.

Now when they start sending protesters to FEMA Concentration Camps for the long stay with bread and water only then we are getting :scared: .

[BiggJawn]

12. Oh, No! Not BREAD!

Well, that totally fucks up HER Atkin's diet....

I think she should have gotten a year each instead.

[CaptainClark23]

13. Dangerous precedent

I'm being somewhat tongue in cheek here, but there are alot of people running around this country who would be happy for three guaranteed days of bread and water.

On the streets, should things get too bad, you can always get yourself arrested and you know at least you'll have someplace to sleep and something to eat. Otherwise known as "Three hots and a cot".

[bluestateguy]

14. I have no tolerance for animal cruelty

Such people can easily move up to harming people if they are not stopped.

[RebelOne]

15. She should be horse-whipped.

[johncoby2]

16. Cut off her hands.

[RebelOne]

44. Well, I wouldn't go that far.

[ladjf]

19. I think the punishment is wrong.

I'm an animal lover and I agree that the woman's cruelty to animals should be punished. However, the deprivation of adequate food amounts to a mild form of torture since it directly relates to health. What's next? Should be be flogged with a whip if she had been guilty of beating the animal?

The concept of "an eye for an eye" is fraught with negative possibilities for the human race.

[RememberTheCoup]

20. right on

And it stuns me that people can't see the bigger implications in this. Let's just do away with that "cruel and unusual punishment" bit in the Constitution. Bush, at least, would be very happy about that. And when they start applying the same punishments to protesters who get arrested for breaking out of the "free speech zone," I'm sure DUers will think that is just dandy as well.

[saigon68]

36. Its a slippery slope

Lets shave the hippies hair.

Lets put those women anti-war protesters in a filthy cell with rats-- they are rats anyway.

Lets let the prisoners rape each other, while we look the other way.

Lets make people wear a shirt saying they are adulterers.

Lets whip children who mouth off to their parents.

Lets lock people up in a cell with no water and no toilet, if they molest children.

Where does it start?

Where does it stop??

Be careful what you wish for.

[Castilleja]

51. Many people are really missing your point.

Which is a very good one. People get very caught up in punishing the crap out of someone, and refuse to see the precedence things like this set and the consequences of same on down the road.

[TexasMexican]

39. "the deprivation of adequate food"

She is an American, she is probably somewhat obese like the rest of us.

Unless you are already extremely malnurished or on your death bed eating bread and water for 3 days isnt going to kill you.

[RememberTheCoup]

41. Lots of things are wrong that don't kill you. (nt)

[RebelOne]

45. I hardly think that three days of bread and water

is going to pose a health risk.

[TexasMexican]

48. I dont think...

it would fit the definition of cruel or unusual either.

[ladjf]

55. They issue isn't whether or not

3 days of bread and water would harm her. For most of us, it would probably be therapy. But, my point is that incarceration should be used only as a means of disallowing convicted criminals the right to walk the streets freely. That isn't an inhumane thing to do. When we start doing cruel things,(even if it symbolic such as the food and water thing), we are heading in the direction of real torture. An enlightened society can handle it's wrong doers in more civilized ways.

It hasn't been too many years since prison officials were using the "cat of nine tails" on the inmates. (circa 1925). A lot of progress has been made since then. However, during the past ten years we have definitely be retrogressing. We have almost completely discarded the idea of rehabilitation and vocational training.

[nodehopper]

Isn't that illegal? The bread/water thing.

[TexasBushwhacker]

22. Not for only 3 days

You can survive on water alone for 3 days unless you're diabetic or have certain other health conditions. Actually, having gotten to spend 18 hours in the Harris County jail for an old forgotten traffic ticket, I can tell you that bread and water isn't all that different from what you normally get, which is bread, bologna and water - LOL - at least for lunch and dinner.

She'll get to experience what it's like to feel really hungry. Of course, she could always opt for the year in jail instead of just one month.

[nodehopper]

23. I know that it's not detrimental, but is it legal?

I mean, that sounds to me like corporal punishment, which I think is illegal.

I understand the motivations behind it, and I don't think it's inappropriate, but I still am not sure it's legal.

[jdj]

27. I agree. I would much rather see them stick to

incarceration without this dramatic crap thrown in. I disagree with the 3 day sentence, I believe she should be sentence to at least 6 weeks, or more, and fined $500 to $1000 for each horse. Because animal control had to be called, they had to do an investigation, the whole process to sentencing is long and drawn out by the time someone gets to court and actually gets sentenced so she should have to pay the taxpayers back, being that they are the ones that fund animal control. My small town pays the country shelter $800,000 a year in taxpayer money for animal control and shelter services.

This bread and water crap is just dumb, and three days is nothing but a hiccup in her schedule

[nodehopper]

32. Yeah, it's like this bizzarre Puritan-era punishment

Which I still don't think is legal. Whereas fines and community service would provide incentive not to do it again, and perhaps teach her something. This will just make her into a martyr. Also, I don't think it's legal, did I mention that?

[Beaker]

50. you could say that it's on the cuel & unusual side...

but for some strange reason, the people that are the staunchest advocates for their version of the second amendment usually want to completely forego the 8th...

and when people on our side applaud these idiot 'activist' judges, WE look just as bad.

[nodehopper]

54. I totally agree. This is 2004, not "the Scarlet Letter"

[Justpat]

21. Good.

[JohnLocke]

26. People are not reading the article.

It's not three days of bread and water and that's it for 30 days, it's for the first three that's all she gets. Not cruel at all.

[jdj]

29. Guilty as charged.

But I didn't even read the post right, I thought she only got three days period.

It's not cruel, but it sounds cruel, so it's stupid, because she deserves a felony charge, fines and a stronger sentence.

If you have an animal you cannot care for ALL IT TAKES to surrender it is ONE PHONE CALL TO ANIMAL CONTROL. That is it, no more. Almost all counties have a shelter and part of their contract with the county they serve is that they have to take all animals, they can't turn any away.

It's SICKENING this happened in Houston, anyone who has seen Animal Cops Houston on Animal Planet knows they have one of the finest SPCA facilities in the country, a mult-million dollar complex where they house domestic animals, live stock, and exotic animals like lions, tigers, and bears, until they can find them homes in sanctuaries. The Animal Cops and Animal precinct shows usually come on at 10 pm and 5 am if anyone is interested in learning more about animal control and animal rescue.

[RememberTheCoup]

34. What makes you think we aren't reading it?

I know exactly what it says. And it's a dangerous road to start traveling.

[Beaker]

52. what if she can't eat bread?

I cannot eat anything with starch in it(and No- it's not an Atkin's thing), I have a disease that renders my body pretty much allergic to dietary starch. if I eat bread, or cake, or pasta, etc...- it feels like someone is tightening a clamp around the base of my spine.

btw- starch(bread included) is not a "natural" part of the human diet- we are, by nature hunter-gatherers and omnivores.
animal flesh, fish, vegetables, nuts, berries, fruit, etc.- THAT'S what our ideal diet would consist of.

diets heavy in bread, pasta, taters and such and starchy snacks are one of the key reasons(combined with lotso sedentary sofa-sitting tv watching) that so many people in this country are increasingly and at least bordering on disgustingly, HUGE lard-asses.

[crossroads]

31. ...and rightly so...

but she is getting off easy at that!:argh:
I wonder if she has sense enuf to care for her kids?

[kayell]

53. I want this judge to help creatively sentence *

Pictures of all his victims on his cell walls would be appropriate. Since actual pictures of each one would result in far to large a cell, perhaps it could be a rotating collection of the tens of thousands of Iraqis, and hundreds of US troops, dozens of TX death row inmates, and the thousands of victims of 9/11.