Lawmakers pass ‘Tommie’s Law’ to make animal cruelty charge a felony in Virginia
RICHMOND, Va. -- 10 days when a pit bull named Tommie was tied to a pole and assail fireplace in Richmond's Abner Clay Park, Virginia's assembly passed a bill that might stiffen the penalty for animal cruelty. despite the fact that the bill is predicated off another animal cruelty case, some have dubbed it "Tommie's Law."
The legislation by subunit. Bill DeSteph (R-Virginia Beach) will increase the penalty for "cruelly or unnecessarily beating, maiming, mutilating, or killing a dog or cat" to a crime.
Under current law, the animal should die as an instantaneous results of the torture or cruel injury before a suspect faces a crime charge.
Sen. DeSteph aforementioned he has been performing on the legislation for 3 years once a dog name Sugar was attacked with a panga in metropolis.
"It ought to be named for each one among those cases," DeSteph aforementioned. "The crime matches the penalty. Not whether or not the dog lives or dies, the act of maliciously wounding or torturing a dog is that the law-breaking."Tommie was tied to a fence in Abner Clay Park in Richmond on Sunday, Feb. 10, doused in accelerant, then assail fireplace.
He lived for an additional 5 days before, as Richmond Animal Care and management declared his death in a very Facebook post, “his body merely gave out” and he stopped respiratory.
"They could not charge him with a law-breaking till Tommie died, that could be a ugly factor. The act itself is that the ugly factor too. The act itself ought to be the law-breaking, not the end result," DeSteph aforementioned.
The rummage around for the one that burned Tommie continued in Richmond.
Memorial for Tommie
Memorials at each Abner Clay Park and RACC still grow. All week long, supporters of Tommie will stop by RACC on Chamberlayne Avenue to pay their respects and drop off donations in Tommie's name.
"For someone to possess the center to line a dog aflame, that is like setting an individual's being's body aflame," same Jamilah Jones, UN agency stopped by RACC to indicate Tommie love.
Jones wasn't aware that cases of animal cruelty ar solely punishable by a law-breaking if the animal survives. She is glad that Virginia can possible before long stiffen the penalty."Tommie displayed tons of doors for these animals currently. He displayed tons of eyes," Jones same. " Why keep losing animals as a result of others need to be rude to them?"
The animal cruelty bill passed the House of Delegates nemine contradicente on Wed. It cleared each chambers while not a vote against it. Now, the bill heads to the governor's table, and DeSteph same he expects Governor Ralph Northam (D - Virginia) can support it.
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