Shocking Case of Judicial Indifference

Appellate Court Frees Man Who
Beat Puppy to Death for Nervous Incontinence

An Iowa appeals court has ruled that a man who clubbed his 7-month-old puppy to death should not be punished under the state’s animal cruelty law because his actions were not “depraved” or “sadistic” as specified by the law. 

Testimony in the man’s trial alleged that he was irritated by the puppy’s undisciplined behavior and repeated “accidents” in the house. After one such occurrence the man carried the puppy outside and returned with a bloody baseball bat and the dead body of the animal.   

A dissenting justice noted that the defendant’s behavior should have been considered animal torture “because it was an extreme response to an ordinary and foreseeable occurrence” and that the beating caused “severe physical pain.” 
(Source: Reuters and USA Today)