Manslaughter charges for dog owners

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by Article

Manslaughter charges for dog owners in Staten Island pitbull attack

The owners of the two dogs that attacked a 90-year-old Staten Island man, an event that ultimately led to his death, have had the charges against them upgraded to second-degree manslaughter, Richmond County District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan announced this morning.

James McNair and Kim DiPrima of Newark Avenue in Elm Park could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted at trial. The pair had initially faced second-degree assault charges, but following Piotrowski's death, Donovan's office sought to have the charges against the two upgraded.

"Following [Henry Piotrowski's] tragic death, my office asked a Grand Jury to consider a new charge of manslaughter in the second degree in this case," Donovan said. "This charge alleges that the defendants, through their reckless behavior caused the death of [Piotrowski]."

The two dogs attacked Piotrowski, a World War II veteran, in the yard of his Port Richmond home on July 1. After several surgeries, which included the amputation of one of his legs and an arm, Piotrowski died on Aug. 17. The Medical Examiner's office confirmed that Piotroswki died of "multiple complications from animal bites."

The dogs were put down after the attack.

Following the attack numerous neighbors came out and denounced the dogs as terrors, and law enforcement sources told the Advance after his death that neighbors called 911 to report the animals eight times in the two weeks leading up to the attack on Piotrowski.

"These defendants were fully aware of the danger their two pit bulls posed to this neighborhood and repeatedly refused to take action to ensure that the animals were properly restrained," Donovan added. "That reckless behavior resulted in the mauling and death of this victim."

In addition to the manslaughter charges, McNair, 28, also faces felony assault charges. He is currently being held on $255,000 bail. Ms. DiPrima, 37, is also facing felony assault charges and has been released on her own recognizance. They are due back in court on Dec. 9.

Source: http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf...for_dog_o.html

Should pet owners face criminal liability for the actions of their pets?

[deggial]

He does have some sort of criminal liability, as it is his inaction or recklessness that led to the injury and death of the victim. He was responsible for taking care of the dogs and that does include restraining them from hurting anyone.

[René_Julien]

Yup, pet owners should be charged like that.

I love all kind of animals, especially dogs.
But as an owner you take the responsibility of what your animals do.

If my dog takes a dump on the sidewalk, I have to clean it up.
If I allow my dog to attack someone I must account for that and in the worst case face charges.

This story is (IMO) manslaughter to the 2nd degree.
(That means involuntary manslaughter, right? I'm not that familiar with the english legal term.)

It's like if you accidently run someone over with your car.
Doesn't mean cars are bad, but they often are deadly weapons and drivers should be responsible.

On issues like this, nonchalance is intolerable.

[Fassa Albrecht]

If it can be proven that the dog is a menace AND that the owner knew, then yes.

In the UK the Dangerous Dogs Act covers this kinda thing.

[middlebit]

They should most definitely be held responsible! Until the day that animals are granted the same rights as humans, that is.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by middlebit

Until the day that animals are granted the same rights as humans, that is.

Because then animals would be liable to prosecution themselves?

Sorry but that's the stupidest thing I've heard this week.

[Fassa Albrecht]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Because then animals would be liable to prosecution themselves?

Sorry but that's the stupidest thing I've heard this week.

True....but if you hear some of the more extreme arguments by animal rights groups...

[René_Julien]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Sorry but that's the stupidest thing I've heard this week.

Don't worry, the week is still young and I have lots of free time.

Will be topped.

[Mark Latimour]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Because then animals would be liable to prosecution themselves?

Sorry but that's the stupidest thing I've heard this week.

You obviously haven't been reading OT much this week then!

[TheDarkReaver]

[peterbright]

Should be a worse charge than manslaughter if they knew the dogs were that dangerous & from the article it certainly appears so. Also, the persons who did not respond to the numerous 911 calls should also go to jail.

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Originally Posted by Mark Latimour

Should pet owners face criminal liability for the actions of their pets?

Absolutely.

Otherwise people could just attack or murder whomever they want and blame their pets. Hey, wait a minute, they do that all the time.

Regards
Sam

[middlebit]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Because then animals would be liable to prosecution themselves?

Sorry but that's the stupidest thing I've heard this week.

I don't know how anyone could've thought I was serious about that?
The point was: an owner of an animal is responsible for that animal and its actions. Until the day....which you know will never come.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by middlebit

I don't know how anyone could've thought I was serious about that?
The point was: an owner of an animal is responsible for that animal and its actions. Until the day....which you know will never come.

The way you wrote it made you sound serious, and there are pretty nutty people who excrete similar sentiments.

[middlebit]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

The way you wrote it made you sound serious, and there are pretty nutty people who excrete similar sentiments.

That's very true. But I'm from Denmark. There's dry humor in the water supply here. And I'm pretty fed up with people, dog owners or not, who try to escape their responsibiliy. "Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to train this wild animal?!" Well, then you shouldn't have owned one.

[Relic]

yes, absolutely.

[kydnav]

I kinda find it a shame they feel the need to mention the breed. Any other kind and they would just say 'dog attack'.

[TheDarkReaver]

Originally Posted by kydnav

I kinda find it a shame they feel the need to mention the breed. Any other kind and they would just say 'dog attack'.

Yeah, but pit bulls have a history of violent behaviour, hence certain breeds of pit bull are banned here in the UK and elsewhere.

[Mark Latimour]

So, following on, should parents be criminally responsible for the actions of their "minor" (ie too young to be charged with a crime) children?

Originally Posted by Times online

Boy, 7, goes on killing spree in zoo, feeding reptiles to crocodile

When keepers arrived for work at the Alice Springs Reptile Centre they thought there had been a mass break-out. Thirteen animals, including a large turtle, bearded dragons and various lizards had apparently escaped from their outdoor pens.

Worse was the scene of carnage in the pen of Terry, an 11ft, 31-stone saltwater crocodile and the zoo’s star attraction. He had been feasting on his fellow reptiles.

CCTV footage revealed the truth: a seven-year-old boy had scaled a fence at the zoo, in Northern Territory, Australia, bludgeoned the giant lizards to death and fed them and others to the crocodile.

The break-in happened just before 8am on Wednesday. Initially, the boy evaded the zoo’s security system because of his size.

In 35 minutes he killed 13 animals, including thorny devils and western blue-tongue lizards, which are rare in captivity. Another victim was a 3ft goanna, a variety of monitor lizard and one of the zoo’s favourites.

Rex Neindorf, the zoo’s director, said that many of the animals were rare or mature and would be difficult to replace.

“It’s absolutely devastating for us - we’re just horrified,” Mr Neindorf told The Times yesterday. “The goanna was 20 years old - she was an absolute doll.”

He said that the boy, whose face was expressionless during the killing spree, had “clammed up” when questioned by police. He had climbed over a second fence to get a closer look at Terry and his victims. “He was lucky because if he got in there with the goanna, she would have torn him to pieces.”

Police questioned the boy but, because of his age, were unable to do anything: children under the age of 10 are not liable for criminal offences. However, the zoo is considering legal action against his parents.

Mr Neindorf said: “I thought for the sheer consequences of what he did that there would have to be some severe punishment, but they can’t do anything. We’re going to see what we can do - maybe try and sue the family in the civil court. We’ll look down that avenue.”

He said that the boy’s brother was part of a group that attacked Terry the crocodile about five years ago. Children often tried to throw rocks at the animal enclosures from a nearby hill, but this was by far the worst incident in the eight-year history of the zoo.

Mr Neindorf said: “We’re horrified that anyone could do this, and saddened by the age of the child. He will just get worse and worse and worse - by the time he’s 10 he will be a hardened criminal.”

The Alice Springs Reptile Centre has 200 animals on display, including perentie goannas, frill-necked lizards, pythons, taipans, death adders and, of course, Terry.

A spokeswoman for the Northern Territory police said that they had identified the boy from the CCTV footage. They had cautioned him and spoken to his mother about the incident.

Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4874657.ece

[AlphaMale]

Originally Posted by TheDarkReaver

Yeah, but pit bulls have a history of violent behaviour, hence certain breeds of pit bull are banned here in the UK and elsewhere.

No they have a history of bad owners. A lot of poor people I know think it is cool to have a pit bull because they can kill most other dogs. Then they love them the first couple of weeks then they chain them up or leave them in their back yard for the rest of their life. Very damaging to the animal psyche, imagine the constant boredom, the only things they can kind of do to interact are biting and barking at things and they get punished for that.