A California man could spend the rest of his life in jail after being convicted of killing and then decapitating his German shepherd.
James Abernathy, 42, was convicted of beating the dog with a golf club, shove a stake through its heart, and then decapitating the animal with a pair of pruning shears. Abernathy was apparently angry after arguing with his girlfriend and took out that anger on the dog.
Under California law, felony animal cruelty only carries a three year prison sentence, but Abernathy was previously convicted in 1986 of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. That makes him eligible for life in prison under California’s three strikes law and the prosecutor in the case is asking the judge to impose that life sentence.
After his conviction, Abernathy’s lawyers argued that he was insane when he killed the dog, but a judge in the case agreed with prosecutors that it was anger rather than insanity that led Abernathy to kill the dog.
In 1996, the California Supreme Court upheld that state’s controversial three strikes law, but gave judges the discretion to strike or dismiss previous felony convictions.
Source:
Man could spend his life in prison for beheading killing his dog. Claire Luna, Los Angeles Times, June 5, 2004.
Judge finds convicted dog killer sane after hearing testimony. Associated Press, June 10, 2004.