Sept. 27, 2008 — More than three years since legislation was passed making animal cruelty a felony, the first case has been postponed. It was scheduled to go to trial Monday on St. Croix to seek justice for a dog named Max.
A new date will be set soon by V. I. Superior Court judge Francis D'Eramo, said Tonya Saafir of the attorney general's office. She said the postponement occurred because assistant attorney general Melissa Moroney is out on a brief sick leave. Moroney has been assigned to the case since its inception.
The news didn't sit well with Moises Carmona, St. Croix Animal Welfare Center warden. "We were very excited to take the case to court," Carmona said Saturday. "I don't want anything more holding us back. It should have gone forward from the beginning. We've been talking to Melissa Moroney since September 2006. From that day, we've tried to get justice for Max."
About three years ago Max, a mixed-breed dog, was found tied to a tree, brutally beaten and blinded. He survived under the care of AWC and was adopted into a loving home, Carmona said.
"We hope to have a new trial date very soon," he said. "We are so close to getting justice for Max. The center has received a wave of community support. We believe that St. Croix won't stand for this kind of random, senseless violence any longer. We want to stop cruelty and violence; we want our day in court."
Carmona and animal rights activists in the territory have been following this case carefully, as it represents a major breakthrough in punishing violence done to animals.
"I'm thrilled that a case is finally moving forward," said Humane Society board President Joe Aubain, when he first heard the case was going to court. "It is history."
Saafir said the trial should be rescheduled in the next couple weeks.
Enacting the animal-cruelty legislation took five years of meetings, a few protests, volumes of professional testimony, a massive email campaign, a 3,000-signature petition, the unanimous vote of two Legislatures, two gubernatorial vetoes, a failed veto override and, finally, a successful veto override in May 2005.
The law brought the territory in step with at least 41 states and territories that have enacted felony animal-cruelty laws. The Humane Society of the United States lauded the territory at the time of the legislation, which makes animal cruelty in the first degree a felony punishable by imprisonment up to two years, with a fine not less that $2,000.
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
