Nearly seven months after the state Supreme Court agreed with a dissenting Superior Court judge that animal owners do not have absolute authority to kill their pets, that same judge has ruled that such owners also do not have a “greater right” to kill their pet than non-owners and that they can have their criminal sentences enhanced by using a deadly weapon.
Last year, Judge Correale Stevens created headlines by warning that an en banc panel majority’s reading of applicable state laws would replace the call of “Lassie, come home” with “Lassie, run for your life.” And though the state Supreme Court didn’t word its decision as strongly, it did vacate the en banc panel’s split and held that facts proving animal cruelty cannot be overlooked simply because the General Assembly has allowed dog owners the right to “humanely shoot” a dog.
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