kcar wrote:Nix according to the news video was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a 3rd-degree felony charge that could have put Nix in prison for up to 5 years.
He got a 10 hour jail sentence. So Lazy8, let's stop hyperventilating about how "we" "destroyed" Nix.
I don't know how Jacksonville law enforcement charges people and I doubt you do. Felony classifications and attending punishments vary considerably among states.
"We" didn't try to destroy him, a prosecutor did. The first agency the owner contacted declined, so he called Animal Control, who apparently had nothing better to do. And my breathing is fine, thanks.
How often or how harshly Jacksonville charges people isn't terribly relevant to the consequences of a felony conviction. Maybe in your world spending five years in prison and a lifetime of limitations on what you can do and where you can do it are nothing compared to the life of a rooster, but I know what it would mean to me:
I would likely never work again in my chosen profession
If it had happened before I went to college I wouldn't have
Never passing a background check; this can mean never being allowed to adopt a child, for instance
Loss of or never obtaining a professional license
Restrictions on where I could live and onerous parole conditions that can extend for years after release
Depending on location I might lose the right to vote (not in Florida) or serve on a jury or hold public office
For specifics to Florida
see here, but a felony conviction in Florida can have even harsher consequences in places outside Florida.
If you look at this guy, listen to his accent, and exercise your prejudices about his class and politics you might just see an opportunity to punish someone you hate, without having ever met him and knowing nothing about him other than what you see thru the lens of local news media.
This is one reason why criminal justice reform is so hard. People look at some behavior they despise and apply the hammer of criminal law to the problem without concern for the downstream consequences.
A ten hour jail sentence for killing an animal, apparently without much provocation, seems fair. Destruction of private property should also concern you, given your (AFAICT) libertarian leanings.
Why the f*ck you choose to believe Nix's side of the story, even though it was contradicted by eyewitnesses, is beyond me. According to the kids who gave eyewitness testimony to the police, the rooster was not attacking or threatening Nix. The kids say that Nix went out into the road with a steel pipe and hit the animal in the head.
Because I've seen how wrong local news media reports can be, how unreliable witness testimony can be (especially as reported thru the media), and because I've known many roosters and his story matches my experience with them. Also, y'know, a presumption of innocence and some idea what the word "cruelty" means.
Finally, I'll say this: if I had to defend myself against one of your roosters and in doing so unintentionally killed your bird, I'd tell what had happened. That would be the right thing to do. Nix didn't do that.
Yes, off with his head. It's only fair.
You need professional therapy. Im sorry you apparently went though legal Hell but from I can tell that experience colors and even controls how you view legal matters and policy issues. You see Nix as an innocent trampled by the state. The evidence about his behavior and the appropriate punishment he received don't support your notion.
Seriously, you're stuck in a deep rut. Talk to someone. You may have something like PTSD.
Wow, you're a psychotherapist? I appreciate the diagnosis, this has saved me thousands in professional fees.
Your sympathy rings a bit hollow. If you were truly sorry about any trauma inflicted by the legal system you wouldn't be so enthusiastic about inflicting it on others. You also might want to fine-tune your diagnostic skills a bit; the longest time I spent in jail was filming a documentary in college. They let me out at the end of the day and I didn't even get raped. I have, however, had friends and acquaintances go thru it, and I'm capable of having empathy for people who aren't just like me. Even Florida crackers.
@SFW: yes, Nix is entertaining. You could stick him in an episode of "Trailer Park Boys"and he'd steal the show.
And with that little snippet of classist bigotry I'll rest my case.
