From the Chicago Sun-Times:
A Cook County jury deliberated for nearly three hours Thursday before convicting a Des Plaines man of felony aggravated animal cruelty for kicking a neighbor girl’s nine-week-old kitten to death last year.
The seven-woman, five-man jury rejected a lesser misdemeanor charge and convicted 34-year-old William Buske of the more serious felony offense that carries a maximum three-year prison sentence.
Buske, who testified during the two-day trial that he hadn’t meant to harm the orange, tiger-striped cat, lowered his head briefly and looked stunned when the verdict was delivered Thursday night.
His attorney said Buske, a construction worker, was “very upset” by the verdict.
And precisely how does he think that little girl felt when she found her kitten was dead? And when she realized he was the creep who had killed her pet? And what about when she was forced to relive it by testifying during his trial? Might she have been “very upset” during those times and at every point in between? I have no compassion for Buske and certainly do hope the verdict hit him below the belt. He certainly deserves a little misery of his own.
Several jurors appeared upset as their verdict was read in the Rolling Meadows courtroom. At least one woman juror cried as jurors were polled about the verdict.
Outside the courtroom, only the jury foreman offered a brief comment on the case. “I think we made the right decision,” said the foreman…
I wholeheartedly agree with that. It seems unnecessarily difficult in the U.S. to enact justice upon those who harm animals. The law tends to favor the criminal instead of the victim, and much of that is due to an inability by Americans to see animals as anything other than commodities (like the rest of the environment). This is one case where the maximum penalty was applied. It won’t bring back that little girl’s kitten. It certainly doesn’t negate the horrible offense he perpetrated against an innocent feline. Nevertheless, there is at least a small bit of satisfaction in seeing the jury go for the more serious felony charge rather than letting this cretin get away on a lesser misdemeanor charge.
Sometimes, if you look hard enough, you can find incidents where the system really does protect those unable to protect themselves.