I can't stop thinking about this animal cruelty case

[idgiehkt]

It's been on my mind since I got this in e-mail several days ago :cry:

In September, IDA's eNews included an Action Alert about Joshua and Justin Molder, two Atlanta, Ga. brothers, 17 and 18 years old, accused of cooking a three-month-old puppy to death in the oven of a community center they allegedly vandalized and burglarized. The nearly 2,000 emails Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard received from IDA supporters as a result of the Alert bolstered his efforts to prosecute this heinous crime by seeking the maximum penalty for the perpetrators. Thank you to everyone who participated in this campaign to hold animal abusers accountable: you made a real difference.

The trial commenced earlier this month, with the prosecution bringing more than two dozen witnesses to the stand to testify against the brothers and presenting over 160 pieces of evidence. Five of the witnesses were other teens who said that the Molders bragged about cooking the puppy and even brought them to the community center to show off the charred body, still hog-tied and gagged with duct tape in the gas range. The youths also stated that the Molders threatened to kill them if they told the police.

An animal expert presented photographs of the corpse and, based on forensic evidence, described for jurors how the conscious puppy scratched the oven door to get out, and gasped for breath as she slowly baked to death. Her dead body was found with the pads of her paws bloody from the struggle and her nose melded to the glass from the intense heat. In addition, a veteran police detective who investigated the crime scene spoke about the "horrible stench" permeating the air from the puppy's burned body, stating that it was worse than the smell of dead bodies he had encountered on homicide cases, even those left to decompose for days. The detective was just one of several police officers who testified against the brothers.

Meanwhile, the defense brought no witnesses, yet maintained the Molders' innocence. Unfortunately, one of the jurors flatly refused to deliberate the brother's guilt, sabotaging the case. However, the Molders still face charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, burglary, property damage, cruelty to children and making terroristic threats. If convicted on all counts, they could spend decades in prison. A retrial has been scheduled for January, so your help is needed once again to see that the puppy killers face justice for their crimes.

:cry: :cry:

http://ga0.org/campaign/puppykillers/explanation
there a take action think in the link

[Critters2]

1. Why wouldn't that one juror convict?!

Why don't people get it through their damn thick skulls that a crime against any living creature is a crime?!! This is so horrible! I'm glad so many witnesses came forward. I hope these guys spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Awful though it is, thanks for posting this. You should also post it in the Vegan and Animal Rights group. (Or would you mind of I did?)

[idgiehkt]

7. be my guest.

thanks.

[Critters2]

8. Will do! Thanks! nt

[Arkansas Granny]

26. How will that juror feel when these guys are up on similar charges

for a crime involving a child? Animal abuse is often present in the backgrounds of serial killers.

[idgiehkt]

47. not only that, but it is pschologically abusive to children to witness this and know about it.

This particular issue burns me up when it comes up and I get really hot under the collar talking about it. That is the reason one of the charges against these guys is 'making terroristic threats'. Because they showed some other kid or kids what they did and threatened to beat them up if they told.

There is no telling how many animals have suffered at the hands of these guys and how many children have been mentally tormented because of it. There needs to be a special charge for this when it included children witnessing it, because it is psychological torment and a great way to create future criminals.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

2. done

These are not people that should be out on the street anytime soon.

[flvegan]

3. They changed their plea to GUILTY!!

Sentencing is coming up.

http://www.wxia.com/news/article_news.aspx?storyid=91135&provider=top

[idgiehkt]

5. thanks flvegan

the horror of this story stays in my mind for a few days every time there is a new development in the case. Today every time I even start to think about human problems and manueverings I see that third paragraph and remember the struggle of that puppy to her death. People suck.

[flvegan]

11. Wait...there's still work to be done.

http://georgiapuppytorture.blogspot.com/

We need everyone to urge proper sentencing for these two individuals. There's information at the above link about who to contact.

The trial is over. Now, bring on the punishment.

[idgiehkt]

13. thanks for posting that link

I just can't get it out of my mind. It has put a lot of things in perspective for me the past few days. I have no real problems.

[Critters2]

21. Thanks, flvegan. I just sent a fax. nt

[LeftyMom]

4. Those boys need years and years of inpatient psychiatric care.

Or locked up for life. Somebody that damaged is never going to be a functional member of society.

[idgiehkt]

6. I feel like

I need it just from reading about the story.

So very sad. There is a dog here now that is really a nightmare, in terms of his behavior and compounded by his size; however, I stopped and picked him up when he was just a puppy in part because of hearing about this case. He was on a bridge trying to follow a family on their way to church and a the man had a switch and just kept wailing on him every time he got close behind them. I couldn't stand it anymore and finally stopped and picked him up. He's almost 100 pounds now.

[grace0418]

15. I agree. I get sick thinking about it.

I cannot begin to imagine how anyone could do this. It is truly beyond my comprehension. Someone capable of a crime like this should never be allowed near another living creature.

[flvegan]

16. Why is it that I never happen upon someone

"wailing upon" a dog?

Good for you taking that dog in.

Edit: punctuation.

[idgiehkt]

43. It almost never happens to me that I can stop and pick one

up. This guy was really trying to keep the puppy from following them and running out in the road. When I got up to him he just had a scratch on his nose where the switch had cut him. But I really did think about this case, as I sat at the stoplight watching it, and I thought about what might happen to him if I just kept driving. Most of the time when I stop to pick up dogs they run, but this was the first time I've ever found a puppy like that.

[Critters2]

10. Locked up for life. Even with therapy, they're too sick to be trusted

in society. I say this as someone who worked for 5 years in restorative justice programs.Sympathetic though I tend to be, some people can't be restored.

[idgiehkt]

14. what is 'restorative justice'?

if you don't mind my asking? I've never heard that terminology before...

[Critters2]

17. Restorative justice is an alternative to retributive justice--

the system on which our courts are based. Restorative justice seeks to restore damage done to victims of crime (can't be done for this poor puppy) and to bring offenders face to face with the consequences of their crimes. I was executive director of a Victim Offender Reconciliation Program, the oldest form of restorative justice programming. Community talking circles, conferences, peer courts, drug courts are some of the other forms of RJ programs. Here's one of several websites with introductory info and definitions:

http://www.restorativejustice.org/intro/


I worked for a Mennonite-supported program. There are both religious and secular, even government-supported RJ programs.

[idgiehkt]

20. thanks

interesting stuff at the link:

Restorative programmes are characterized by four key values:

Encounter: Create opportunities for victims, offenders and community members who want to do so to meet to discuss the crime and its aftermath
Amends: Expect offenders to take steps to repair the harm they have caused
Reintegration: Seek to restore victims and offenders to whole, contributing members of society
Inclusion: Provide opportunities for parties with a stake in a specific crime to participate in its resolution

[Critters2]

24. It has the potential to really change the system, but prosecutors

don't tend to be fond of it. After all, they get paid (and elected) to put people in jail.

The best info on RJ theory is found in books by Howard Zehr, the director of justice programs for the Mennonite Central Committee. His books are available on Amazon (and other places) and give the best overview of RJ theory.

[idgiehkt]

28. I really like the first step where they discuss the crime

That has to be really, really good for the victims. I saw a show recently that was advertised as a show on forgiveness, with each person telling how their life was changed because they forgave a person who had done egregious harm to them. But the common denominator in each of these cases was that there was confrontation of the person who committed the crime...not that they forgave them, but that they stood face to face with the person and said these are the ways in which you hurt me and this is how it effected my life. I read a book once, I think it was 'Toxic Parents' or something like that, that said that confrontation is the most healing tool there is, in cases of child abuse and stuff like that. Not 'heated' confrontation, just statemen of the crime and it's effects on the victim.

[Critters2]

29. That's exactly what restorative justice is.

I worked at a program that brought victims and offenders together in a mediation, in hopes that they would, together, decide on restitution...after discussing the crime with one another. Even when they couldn't decide on restitution (which was rare), they tended to find it a good, healing experience.

[The Traveler]

34. I'm just a science geek and motorhead

but I think you might be rushing to judgment here. I agree there is absolutely no doubt these guys are sick and very potentially dangerous. They need to be committed to a mental health facility or something at the very least. But without knowing more about the details of their (medical) case, I don't think you can conclude they can never be restored to civilization.

On the other hand, I have no experience in this sort of thing and you do ... and it is clear these are two sick f***ers.

[Critters2]

37. Not a risk I'm willing to take. Lack of empathy is a hard problem to solve.

Mind you, I don't think prison should be hell. They should have decent lives--which our present system doesn't allow for--but they shouldn't be out and about with the rest of us. Empathy is basic to normal human functioning. These guys are completely lacking in it. For public safety reasons, they shouldn't be free. Sad, though it is.

[The Traveler]

40. Thanks for answering

"Empathy is basic to normal human functioning." I consider that in the context of public policies on a range of issues ... the rights of gay people, the problem of multi-generational poverty, treatment of disabled war veterans, a "greed is good" philosophy ... it seems to me we, as a society, have become empathically dysfunctional.

I think empathy is a skill ... we are all born with the capacity for language yet we must be taught to speak and read. However, it is really difficult to teach language to feral children once they are older than about 5. So you are likely right on the matter.

[The Traveler]

18. Potential serial killers

As I recall, animal torture is a common feature of the serial killer profile. Yeah. These sickos need to be supervised by some very attentive mental health professionals. At this point, they have to be considered potentially dangerous to themselves and to others.

[Critters2]

22. I consider the primary purpose of the criminal justice system to be

public safety. In that vein, these guys should be kept off the streets permanently. They've demonstrated a lack of empathy for this victim. No reason to think they'd feel differently toward humans.

[The Traveler]

27. I agree

But if they get the help they need, there is a small chance they can be restored to sanity. Just letting them off the hook for this would be a tragic mistake, not only for probable future victims but it would amount to just flushing these kids down the toilet. Monsters of this sort are not born ... they are made.

[idgiehkt]

32. you are right, they are made

I wish we could find what makes them and break that part down and fix it so it doesn't happen again. I always feel that somehow the weak, helpless part of animal torturers somehow gets murdered in their childhood and every time that they see something that reminds them of the murdered part of themselves and that is too painful to remember so they have to kill that weakness in others. I've read also that people who suffer severe abuse learn to identify with the perpetrator to salvage themselves psychologically or something. I think that might be what Stockholm syndrome is, I can't remember. I hear a lot that this behavior is committed by sociopaths, people with no compassion but I don't understand that argument because I can't make a link between the lack of compassion and the need to hurt other things...there has to be another variable in there somewhere.

[The Traveler]

38. God, idgie

There is a part of me that is very, very grateful that neither one of us understands the workings of minds like this.

What little I know of psychology comes from my own treatment for PTSD and the myriad of issues thereby incurred. But I have read/heard that disorders of this sort almost always emerge as a result of a major trauma delivered early on in the development of the psyche, but I am not knowledgable enough about these matters to form a coherent opinion.

Part of me grieves for the perpetrators, though. My sense is that the odds are against them ever recovering from the sickness inside of them, and I hate to see human beings fall into the depths like that. And another part of me wants to simply kick their asses. Mostly, I want to vomit. This is a simply sickening story.

[idgiehkt]

41. I'm the same

I tend to think everyone is rehab-able but then I always hear people who have worked with perps like this say no that that is not true, that many of them, even ones in their mid to late teens, are beyond hope.

It really is. Literally every time I start thinking about the drama or whatever going on my life I see her...I won't go into the images my mind is coming up with or the sensations but it has put a lot in perspective to me. This is a horrible world where sometimes one is tortured just for being born.

[LeftyMom]

25. Yep.

:scared:

[Coyote_Bandit]

9. Damn

I'm going to go hug my two rescue dogs now....

Their presence is one of the great pleasures in my life.

[Critters2]

12. I gave the beagle a hug when I read this, too

I cannot imagine doing such a thing to any animal. I cannot imagine not seeing them as great gifts.

[Coyote_Bandit]

19. One of my two dogs

has renal disease and went into kidney failure at five months of age. He is now five years old and doing very well as a renal insufficiency dog. The most positive prognosis he got as a puppy was "wait and see". It is hard to fathom that while we were trying to save his life these sickos would have burned him alive.

My other little guy was a puppy mill rescue. He was nine months old when he came to me. He had been attacked by another dog and had an open bloody gash in one eye. And he had never been inside a building of any type much less a home.

One is a cuddler and one fancies himself a watch dog.

I simply cannot imagine the horror that little dog experienced. I hope I don't have nightmares about it tonight.

[Critters2]

23. They are such amazing creatures! How could anyone do such a thing!

Thanks for giving yours a good home. Would that all dogs fared so well.

[GenDem]

35. That's just what I did with my two babies.

I just look into their innocent faces, and wonder what that poor little innocent puppy went through. :cry:

[GenDem]

30. This heinous crime has made me sick to my stomach.

I hope the fuckers get the maximum. These two do not belong in a civilized or even an uncivilized society.

[Critters2]

31. OT, but how's your schipperke?

[GenDem]

33. She's doing much better.

I don't have a clue what it was. It is such a bewilderment when they can't talk and tell you where it hurts. I do suspect that she had more of the Q-tip inside her intestines and that it worked its way out. She is now going to the bathroom normally, too. She has been on antibiotics now since Sunday night, and we have switched to home made food, thanks to a DUer and their recipe.

Thank you so much for asking. :hi:

[Critters2]

36. Glad to hear!! nt

[Wcross]

39. Wow. I am beyond words. I hope they rot in hell for eternity. n/t

[judaspriestess]

42. "But each teen's attorney is hoping for mercy from the judge-- probation and rehabilitation."

hell no!! based on the smirks on their faces, they think this is funny. Assholes

[philosophie_en_rose]

46. Any legal punishment is far more merciful than they were to that dog.

No one can make them feel remorse. They deserve a harsh sentence.

They make me sick.

[SPKrazy]

44. Oh Yuck!

that's sick
you know those kids are screwn in the head. How did they get that way?
At what point do we stop caring how they got that way and just ....

I am sick

:cry:

[MadAsHellNewYorker]

45. I say bring back the Code of Hammurabi for this one.

just fucking vile. :grr:

[BreweryYardRat]

48. Slaughter the worthless little shits.

I've got no mercy for fuckers like this.

[stuntcat]

49. animal cruelty's a VERY BAD SIGN

in a kid or grownup, whoever, anyone who can be that cruel with animals is psychopathic (not in the funny way)