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PRESS RELEASE
RELEASE DATE: Immediately (November 3, 2006)
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gene Baierschmidt
(801) 261-2919 phone
MAN WHO PUT DOG IN OVEN TO BE SENTENCED MONDAY
Marc Vincent, the man who last May put his wife’s dog into a 200° oven for five minutes and later pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals, will be sentenced in Third District Court at 9:00 AM on Monday, November 6. The sentencing will take place in Room W39 of the Matheson Courthouse, 450 S. State Street. Under current Utah law, his crime is classified as a Class A misdemeanor, and the maximum penalty that could be imposed would be a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
The Humane Society of Utah has been watching this case closely since the incident occurred, and expresses a strong interest in seeing how Judge William Barrett handles the issue. "We are currently supporting legislation that would elevate the deliberate and prolonged torture of an animal, which is certainly what happened to Henry, the dog, to third-degree felony status," says HSU Executive Director Gene Baierschmidt, "and the outcome of the Vincent case will be an important factor in persuading the public that we need laws that will treat torture as what it is - a felonious action meriting serious retribution and psychological counseling for the perpetrator. We need to give prosecutors the means to go after people who would torture or maim animals."
Mr. Baierschmidt points out that forty-one other states already have a felony provision in their animal cruelty codes, and believes that Utah needs to come up to standard. "There is no doubt whatsoever that intentional abuse of animals is only one link in a vast network of violence. Women, children, elderly people, anyone less capable of defending him- or herself against an aggressor, are all victims in the same pattern. We can’t just shrug our shoulders and say, ‘Oh, well, it was only a dog.’ The bottom line is that uncontrolled rages, sadistic enjoyment of others’ pain, and brutal bullying don’t belong in a civilized culture no matter WHO the object of the cruelty is."
Henry’s case has attracted international attention. "What happened to this dog is horrible, but we hope that some good can be salvaged from the situation by finally getting tougher laws to protect other animals in Utah," says Mr. Baierschmidt.
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