"A cat killer will spend four to 10 years in prison for a turbulent February night in which he threatened his aunt, fired a shotgun and fatally stabbed a feline in the head.
Douglas County District Judge Patrick Mullen sentenced 20-year-old Matthew Pokorny to eight years, eight months to 20 years in prison -- a term that is cut in half under state sentencing guidelines.
On Feb. 9, Pokorny threatened the aunt he lived with near 48th Avenue and Y Street. He stabbed her cat, Jasper, in the head, then pointed a shotgun at his aunt. He pointed it away and then fired -- hitting a car parked outside.
[Judge] Mullen gave Pokorny the maximum sentence for terroristic threats -- 20 months to five years in prison. The judge sentenced him to six to 12 years in prison for weapon use. And he sentenced him to one to three years in prison on a felony count of cruelty to animals. Pokorny, who was evaluated by psychiatrists and described as bipolar, had a record of disorderly conduct and threatening behavior."
________________________
Cruelty to animal stories abound on the Internet along with cute animal pictures. Like you, my humanity screams out about such acts, but you'll notice I rarely if ever pass along these stories. Part of the reason for that is that as a lawyer I never handled a case involving animal cruelty. Part of the reason is that I'm revolted by the reports, although I find news accounts of cruelty to children, the mentally handicapped and the elderly more relevant to my mission.
I do understand C-RA-Z-Y, though, and this case isn't about animal cruelty, it's about someone who is mentally ill. The crime against this cat is appalling and disgusting, but it is a manifestation of clear mental and emotional illness and the incarceration of this pathetic creature seems misguided. Hospitalization seems in order.
There's a special place in hell for people who neglect and abuse their pets.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I will say this. As a person that struggles with mental illness and the biological brother of this supposed "CAT KILLER" i know the full story and what we went thru as children. Yes my brother is not right in the head but the trauma and neglect we went thru as kids, he never got thr help he should've as a child. I myself did because I was adopted out and loved by a family that put their all into helping me. By thr grace of God I did not go thru thr same route. But this isn't about me. My brother was on meth at the time he did that. He was tripping out and thought people were coming after him. He saw a shadow and acted and later found out it was his aunts cat when he sobered up. Our aunt and uncle are not any better. They are actually alot worse. Thr media made it far worse thrn it actually is. But still wasnt good. Killing Jasper was an accident but it still happened.
DeleteYour right
ReplyDelete