Every animal lover must be sad to think about any creature being harmed, neglected, or abused. These horrific actions seem to be occurring all too frequently without any serious sort of penalties. Fortunately, one judge decided to take action since he was fed up with animal abusers getting away with little to no punishment.
Michael Cicconetti, the judge, is not your typical jurist. He is the hero we didn’t know we needed, standing up to animal abusers and dishing out “creative” sentences to them in the hopes that they will reconsider their actions before breaking the law.
Herman, a devoted childhood friend who was a Dachshund mix owned by his family, served as the catalyst for his love for animals. He now owns a 10-year-old Bernese Mountain dog named Kasey that was given to the Cicconetti family as a gift in memory of a friend who was passing away from cancer.
Mike, brings his sympathy for animals with him into the courtroom, but he must also adhere to the rules of evidence. Although he stated that he could not administer “cruel or unusual penalties,” this did not preclude him from using some ingenuity.
He also takes into account each offender’s mental health before each case to see how much suffering or embarrassment they can take.
For instance, a woman who left her dog behind and forced it to live in squalor was ordered to spend the day in the dump. At the hearing, he said:
“I want you to go down to the county dump, to the landfill, and I want them to find the stinkiest, smelliest, God-awful odor place they can find in that dump and I want you to sit there for eight hours tomorrow, to think about what you did to that dog while you smell the odor. If you puke, you puke.”
However, the case that really thrust him into the spotlight was Michelle Murray, a woman who dumped 35 kittens in the woods and was sentenced to a night alone in the freezing wilderness as well as jail time and a fine.
“ How would you like to be dumped off at a metro park late at night, spend the night listening to the coyotes … listening to the raccoons around you in the dark night, and sit out there in the cold not knowing where you’re going to get your next meal, not knowing when you are going to be rescued?” Judge Mike said.
Judge Mike hopes for his headline-grabbing punishments to raise public awareness of animal mistreatment and its repercussions—not just for the perpetrators but for everyone else as well. He wants people to understand that it is illegal.
He was trying to find a way to make the lesson stick because it didn’t appear as if they understood it. Judge Mike claims that the punishments were not planned in advance. Before making any decisions, he waits to hear all of the case’s specifics.
In Ohio, maltreatment of a companion animal is a felony as of September 2016. Judge Mike is obviously a strong proponent of this law, which is known as Goddard’s Law. He hopes that legislation against animal abuse continues to advance, despite the fact that it’s a significant start in the right direction.
Watch it here: Youtube/ABC news, Youtube/ABC 5
Sources: Taphaps, Iheart, Animalscene