Target: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost
Goal: Ensure man who was convicted of throwing bleach on kitten is not freed due to legal loophole.
Alonzo Kyles, who was accused of soaking a cat with bleach, had his conviction overturned because it was thought the cat was a stray, and stray dogs and cats in Ohio are not given the same considerations under law as house pets. Cuyahoga County prosecutors are taking the case to the Ohio Supreme Court to try and have this decision overruled. They are also requesting the law be clearly defined to say that anyone who abuses a stray cat or dog will be subject to felony animal abuse charges.
Because it could not be proven the cat was someone’s pet, the judge overturned the conviction. The law, known as Goddard’s Law, makes it illegal to abuse any companion animal and states that the definition applies to “any animal that is kept inside a residential dwelling and any cat or dog regardless of where it is kept, including a pet store.” However, prosecutors argue that the legislators who wrote the law meant for it to protect all cats and dogs since they wrote “any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept,” instead of “any cat or dog that has received care.”
Not only is it important to change this law to make sure all abused cats and dogs receive justice, but it is imperative that such abusers be punished since they oftentimes eventually turn to either hurting or killing people. Sign this petition to demand the law be rightfully interpreted to mean that animal abusers be held responsible for heinous acts against all cats and dogs.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Attorney General Yost,
Alonzo Kyles, who was originally convicted on a felony charge for throwing bleach on a kitten, will not be punished because a judge interpreted Goddard’s Law to mean that protections only pertained to companion animals, which are defined as animals that are “kept inside a residential dwelling,” or inside another establishment where they receive ongoing care. Because the law is worded in this manner, prosecutors surmised the judge focused on the word “kept” and allowed the man who reportedly committed this act to walk free.
Specifically, reports state the man threw bleach in a stairwell where a black kitten was located to try and remove the cat, and authorities found the distressed animal lying still and meowing at the bottom of the stairs. His paws were swollen and red, and the cat did not resist help, according to officers. Although a grand jury convicted the accused party on felony animal abuse charges, the case was appealed and another court decided that because it was not proven the cat had an actual home, or since the cat had not been kept somewhere on a regular basis, his conviction should be overturned.
Cuyahoga County prosecutors would like to see this decision reversed and are further requesting that the law’s wording be changed so that it specifically states all cats and dogs, including strays, be protected from the hands of animal abusers. Prosecutors proclaim officials who wrote the law meant for all animals to receive such protections, or else they would have said “any cat or dog that has received care,” rather than “any dog or cat regardless of where it is kept.”
Since animal abusers oftentimes move on to committing more serious crimes against other human beings, both people and stray animals will likely be at risk if this law is not interpreted differently. I therefore urge you to support the Cuyahoga County prosecutors’ case to ensure that all cats and dogs, including strays, receive equal protections from cruel acts of animal abuse.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Mark Marek
This is the most stupid law on the books. Where are the brains of people writing laws. This law needs to be changed. And the person needs to be charged as I am sure the judge was in the correct mental acuity. People who hurt animals need to be hurt in the same way. How would this monster feel if bleach were eating at his skin and eyes. How would the judge feel. Why is it that basic intelligence is not equaled with emotional intelligence and why did this judge have neither? We all know right from wrong. To hurt something so little without a voice or legal protections as in this state should be punished with the exact same harm and waiting time so this idiot would lear suffering up close and personal. This is an excellent example of why the laws don’t protect us or any living being. Correct the damn law and throw the judge off the bench!
I agree with your comment 100%. The punishment should fit the crime. Throw bleach on this evil monster and leave him there to feel the pain and see how he likes it. What these evil monsters do to these innocent animals should be done to them. Then they will know how it feels!!
The code of Hammurabi: An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The innocent kitten, feels pain and has every right to live and be protected from harm.
I would like to know what happened to the kitten? Was he/she treated? Has he/she recovered? Has he/she been placed in a loving & stable home?
judge is no better than the abuser… drown both of them.
Yes! What does that say about abusing animals if they are feral… doesn’t matter, a life is a life whether it’s feral or not. I do NOT agree with this judge at all. Just sad.
That so called judge is a Moran. He needs as much help as the animal abuser. What a psycho! He needs to be removed from the bench. He is not capable of deciding right from wrong.
This is the scary world that we live in. With people like this crazy judge in power, we are in big trouble.
Agree with your comments, this psycho tortured an innocent animal that was only trying to survive, how would he feel if someone covered him in bleach. Animals feel pain and this evil monster needs to be punished as he has no empathy and will do the same again.
I want to make this living Piece Of Shit Man a Bleach and Arsenic Smoothie…It’s good for him
Shouldn’t matter if an animal is a pet or a stray. The law should protect ALL animals!
Vile scumbag
I quite agree with the comments. The judge is as bad as the abuser and if this is law in Ohio, then animal rights, whether stray or not, need changing and quick! You will probably find that this piece of shit is a friend of the judge! Lock them both up
Keep us informed about the kitten’s well being. Did the kitty survive? Does he have a home?
What is the difference between an owned cat or a stray! They both feel the same pain. I live in Ohio and it disturbs me that this animal abuser was set free. Change the freaking laws if that’s what it takes to say “any” animal that is abused!
NO NO NO!!!!! STRAYS DON’T COUNT JUDGE?! THAT IS INSANE!
Strays go through hell already. ALL animals need protection from the judicial system!
He soaked her in BLEACH!! DO NOT LET HIM GO FREE ON A LOOPHOLE THAT IS ENTIRELY LUDICROUS AND MORONIC! Permanently delete this law. Who ever wrote that law gave license to torture strays. Is this want you want in your communities and society as a whole!
FELONY FIRST DEGREE NOTHING LESS!!!!!!
God’s speed for a speedy recovery little buddy….
This is a psychopath! The war on animal is happening with violence becoming an every day thing desensitizing society! THIS JUDGE IS WRING AND SEVERE PUNISHMENT MUST HAPPEN! Abusers MUST HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!
THIS IS THE MOST INFURIATINF THING. THROW SULPHURIC ACID ON BOTH OF THEM. WE NEED JUSTICE FOR CATS AND DOGS AND IN THIS CASE…THIS INNOCENT KITTEN
Will go free because the kitten may not have belonged to someone!!!???? This is a living being, a baby that met up with a demon. Way to go lawmakers and communities, as you have just given the green light for countless animals to be abused. Go to your AI world because you do not wish to face the reality of this the true world as long as your butt is safe.
The judge is an a****** it shows you how the system works it sucks
Animal abuse period! Is the cat ok – what happened,?
What kind of ridiculous decision is that for animal torture? An animal feels pain whether a pet or not this is insane thinking! Whats next now it’s okay to hurt a child because it’s not a biological one? This is just wrong period whoever came up with this decision needs to go back and rethink what they’ve done by opening Pandoras box! Guaranteed this is happening everywhere and this just gave sick people a free pass to torture animals!
Judges are assholes and the law is an ass. We see this with the 2nd amendment, which has enabled mass murder. Just interpret the law properly and stop being assholes.
The issue is not that the cat was a stray, the issue is that this individual is willing to do unspeakable harm to innocent beings which could translate to children in the future. Anyone who can do something like this to a helpless creature is a danger to society and all living beings.
What retarded legislation!
Whether it is someone’s pet or a stray animal, who did not ask to be homeless.
The pain is the same.
This psychopath must be destroyed!
So if I understand correctly you are allowed to mistreat a stray who has no home too!!! After all, amounts to the same thing!!!!!
Same needs to be done to this piece of garbage that did this to an innocent kitten!! Must change the wording in the law ASAP. All animals must be protected from cruel people!!!
I life is a life. Stays feel pain, confusion, and fear! Whither an animal is owned or a steady the have the same feelings as all living creatures. This Ohio law is stupid!!! If a person doesn’t have a home and is assaulted or killed the perpetrator is still punished. And it’s a severe punishment. Why is it not the same for animals??? The punishment should ALWAYS fit the crime….