As that time is going to vary greatly between horse owners, well-meaning onlookers and disinterested bystanders, who really has the final say?
Woman sentenced in horse starvation case [link]
Mike Peters | July 27, 2007
A woman convicted last month in the death of a horse was sentenced Thursday to 90 days in jail, six years probation and ordered not to have any contact with animals. Jacqueline "Jax" Lovelace of Eaton was found guilty of aggravated cruelty to animals in a jury trial and faced Judge Marcelo Kopcow Thursday to plead her case for a lighter sentence.
Before any witnesses for the defense could speak, one woman spoke about the horse. Carrie Terroux got the horse from Lovelace, then reported its malnourished condition to animal control officers. Terroux said "Mississippi was dying of malnutrition, and she didn't call a vet." The horse was estimated at about 350 pounds underweight when it died.
Speaking for Lovelace in the case were Karen Mendoza, Deanna Freng and Jen Albright, all of whom said Lovelace had taken care of 35 horses, yet she was suspected on mistreating only one. "It doesn't make sense to starve one horse and feed all the others," Freng said. Lovelace also spoke to the judge, and in tears, she told him Mississippi had other health problems, and she tried to feed the horse, but he wouldn't eat.
But Judge Kopcow admonished Lovelace, saying, "The only opinion that matters here is the jury's—12 people who unanimously found you guilty of torturing Mississippi." The judge also said he wanted it clear to the community that if you own an old horse, you should take care of it and not torture the animal. Kopcow called the case "shocking to the senses."
—XP
