CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #549 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Family dog fatally beaten
Ocala, FL (US)Incident Date: Friday, Jul 30, 1999
County: Marion
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: George Stephens Finley
George Stephens Finley, 58 has been convicted of animal cruelty for fatally beating his dog because he thought the dog was homosexual.
A jury in Ocala took 35 minutes to convict George Stephens Finley, 58, in the beating of his dog, a poodle-Yorkie mix named General Lee. George Finley's wife, who divorced him after the incident, said Finley was upset that the dog kept displaying what was, to him, unnatural friendship toward another family dog, a male Jack Russell Terrier.
"He felt that the dog was a queer-type dog and it made him angry," said Marion County Sheriff's Capt. Mike McQuaig. The dog, incidentally, had been neutered, and a vet testified that his behavior wasn't necessarily sexual but something a lot of dogs do to assert their dominance.
Finley's ex-wife said she finally had enough of his griping and said, "Well, then you make them stop." He did, prosecutors say, by beating the dog so badly it had to be put to sleep. The incident happened on July 30, 1999.
Prosecutors say Finley hit the 7-pound dog with a vacuum cleaner wand with such force that it fractured its skull. He then threw the animal against a tree, and left it there for two hours in the Florida sun in July, refusing to allow his daughter to take the animal for care, prosecutors say.
"When the dog owner was allowed to go outside and see the dog, it actually made an effort to wag its tail, so it was conscious, and then it started screaming in pain. It was obviously suffering," said Sarah Ritterhoff Williams, assistant state attorney. The dog lapsed into a coma, and was put to sleep by a veterinarian.
Defense lawyers maintain Finley struck the dog accidentally.
Finley's crime is considered a third degree felony, which is defined as "A person who intentionally commits an act to any animal which results in the cruel death, or excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering."
Finley faces a year in the county jail, up to a $5,000 fine, and up to four years probation. Williams says prosecutors will also be asking that Finley be required to attend anger management classes and counseling.
Jennifer O'Connor, a case worker for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said convictions like this show that people are tired of seeing this kind of abuse of animals.
George Finley is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22. References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
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