Target: Spencer Merriweather III, President of Association of Prosecuting Attorneys
Goal: Prioritize animal abuse prosecution and need for penalties that reflect seriousness of crime.
Pennsylvania resident Austin McClimins was charged with and subsequently took a plea deal for felony cruelty to animals. In the shocking case, a dog was found hanging from a car and strangled on McClimins’ property. The defendant also faced several misdemeanor charges of allegedly failing to provide care for several dogs and cats on the property. Unfortunately, these latter charges were not prosecuted because of the plea deal.
This deal represented a case of justice averted. Not only did McClimins avoid facing a bulk of charges, but he was also allowed to serve jail sentences for the two charges for which he pled guilty concurrently. As a result, his punishment would be significantly reduced. But after viewing harrowing images of the deceased dog in the case, the presiding judge had a change of heart about the plea deal. “This is a calculated, cold, premeditated — you must have gone through some effort to strangle this dog in the most cruel way,” the judge said, before adding, “I don’t trust you — I don’t trust you.” After this declaration, the judge rejected the plea deal and ordered McClimins to serve sentences consecutively. He also imposed a strict ban prohibiting the defendant from owning more pets of any kind.
Sign the petition below to encourage more thoughtful analysis and rejection of plea deals that enable animal abusers to escape accountability.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Merriweather,
Too many legal cases involving animal cruelty end with a plea deal that provides little more than a slap on the wrist to accused abusers – and even killers – of innocent animals. A Pennsylvania case involving Austin McClimans almost become one such example. McClimins pled guilty to reportedly hanging and strangling a dog on his property. Despite the rescue of many more allegedly malnourished animals on the premises, McClimins was offered a plea deal in which he skirted most of the lesser charges and would serve only a fraction of the dual sentences imposed on him.
If not for a judge compelled by images of the deceased canine victim, McClimins would have walked out of the courtroom and likely would have been free to own and possibly endanger more animals. True justice should not be reliant upon a sentencing hearing. You acknowledge that animal abuse is a “serious, violent crime.” As leader of one of the nation’s leading organizations for developing effective prosecuting attorneys, please make it a priority to enhance training on how to handle animal cruelty cases without sacrificing justice. Plea deals and light sentences should be a last resort, not a go-to solution for an already-dismissed yet dangerously insidious crime.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Abdallah Egbareia
