Internet Censorship Essay, Research Paper
Animal cruelty encompasses a range of different behaviors harmful to animals, from neglect to malicious,
brutal killings. Studies show that animal cruelty may lead to more serious forms of crime, like heavy drug
use, violent outbursts, and most common, cold blooded murder. Many studies in psychology, sociology, and
criminology during the last twenty-five years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have
childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. A web page that goes by the
name Animal Alliance says ?most cruelty investigated by humane officers, is unintentional neglect, and can
be resolved through education.? (3) I was slightly shocked when I saw this comment. Anyone who puts an
animals? life in their hands, has a responsibility to it. You don?t just forget to feed him/her, or forget to show
them love unless it is intentional, it get so much worse, though. These people aren?t just forgetting to feed
their pets, or give them attention, they?re kicking and beating them, poisoning and butchering these poor
creatures, and what makes me sick to my stomach, is that some of these people do it for fun!! I recently ran
across a link to a web page that contained a online petition to put a cat?s killers to justice with maximum
sentence. This is the article I found on this brutal torture of an innocent creature.
***WARNING*** (graphic details)
?On October 10, 1999, a beautiful female cat came willingly to the four boys who stopped on the side of the
road and called to her. Her trust was rewarded by unthinkable terror and cruelty – being used as a tug-of-war
toy until the boys heard something “pop”, having her legs broken, being jumped up and down on like a
trampoline. Even when her pitiful battered body was mercifully dead, her suffering was not at an end. The
boys then placed her ravaged body under the wheel of their car, braking over her, as they drove off to find
other amusement. Once the Chesapeake Animal Control conducted their investigation and performed a
necropsy, criminal charges were filed against 3 of the 4 boys involved. If these charges are found to be
accurate, these boys are not only in violation of the laws of the State of Virginia, but are also in need of
immediate psychiatric intervention.? (1)***
Another horrific article I ran across was even worse. It was about a dog who to was also a victim of rancid
brutality. Here is that story.
***WARNING*** (graphic details)
?Jose, Marcus, Richard and Lance are accused of obtaining a video camera, pressing the ‘record’ button,
luring Scruffy from his home, and then torturing and killing him in an unspeakably monstrous act of cruelty.
In the videotape that the police and media have in their possession, four men are shown torturing and killing
Scruffy in lurid detail. The quality of the tape is very good, and the police have been able to obtain
photographs of the men in the tape. In this tape, one of the four men is shown to elevate Scruffy off the
ground by the neck, and then begin this horrific abuse by choking him. This 6 pound little dog did not have
a fighting chance against these men. Scruffy, still alive, was then placed in a trash bag. The four men shown
in the tape then doused the trash bag with what appeared in the video to be lamp oil, took a cigarette lighter,
and set Scruffy on fire. Scruffy, at this point in the video, began to run wildly in pain and agony around the
trees while the four men watched and laughed. When the flames finally went out, Scruffy was still alive, but
his torture was not over. Next, the men decided to try to decapitate Scruffy with a shovel. After slamming
the shovel into Scruffy’s neck and not being able to attain their goal, they realized that Scruffy was more of
a fighter than they had expected. The men then opened Scruffy’s mouth and began to pull his jaws apart, as
if trying to rip his face in two. Using the shovel in place of a club, the men then beat Scruffy until his tiny
body gave out, and he died. Throughout the videotape the four men are all shown laughing and having a
good time as they are carrying out these unspeakable tortures.? (1) ***
After I read these stories I was disgusted, revolted, down right sickened by the realization that these men
needed to be institutionalized or locked down. It?s scare?s me to think of what they would and are capable
of doing to a human being.
The FBI uses reports of animal cruelty in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and
known violent criminals. Dr. Randall Lockwood, vice president of Training Initiatives for The Humane
Society of the United States, states that ?Researchers, as well as the FBI and other law enforcement
agencies nationwide, have linked animal cruelty to domestic violence, child abuse, serial killings, and to the
recent rash of killings by school-age children.?(2) I found yet another web page listing some reports from
police case files. I was astonished! These are a few excerpts from that page.
***WARNING*** (graphic details)
“Russell Weston Jr., tortured and killed 12 cats, by burning, cutting their tails, paws, ears off, put toxic
chemicals in their eyes, blinding them, forcing them to eat poison, hanging them from trees; the noose loose
enough to create a slow and painful death, as the cat/kitten struggles to free itself as the noose gets tighter
with each attempt. Later killed 2 officers at our Nation’s Capitol.”
“Jeffery Dahmer loved to dissect animals (he learned this in school). Later he dissected boys, and kept their
body parts in the refrigerator. Murdered 17 men.”
“On May 21, 1998 in Springfield, Oregon; 15-year-old Kip Kinkel set a live cat on fire and dragged the
innocent creature through the main street of town. He walked into his high school cafeteria and opened fire
on his classmates. Two classmates were killed and 22 others injured, four critically. Later that day, police
found his parents shot to death in their home.”
“Prior to committing multiple murders, Luke Woodham, age 16, wrote in his personal journal that he and
an accomplice beat, burned and tortured his dog, Sparkle, to death. Woodham said it was “true beauty.” He
poured liquid fuel down his dog’s throat and set fire to her neck, both inside and outside. On 10/1/1977,
Woodham stabbed his mother to death and then went to his high school where he shot and killed two
classmates — two girls aged 16 and 17, and injured seven others. In June 1998, Woodham was found guilty
of three murders and seven counts of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three life sentences and an
additional 20 years for each assault.”
“The Kobe Killer, an as yet unnamed 15-year-old boy in Japan, beheaded a cat and strangled several
pigeons. Decapitated 11-year-old Jun Hase, and battered to death a 10-year-old girl with a hammer, and
assaulted three other children in separate attacks.”
“At 9 years old, Eric Smith strangled a neighbor’s cat. At 13 years old, he bludgeoned four-year-old Derrick
Robie to death. Smith lured the little boy into the woods, choked him, sodomized him with a stick, then beat
him to death with a rock.”
“Arthur Shawcross repeatedly threw a kitten into a lake until the kitten drowned from exhaustion. Killed a
young girl. Then, after serving 15-1/2 years in prison, he killed 11 more women.” (4) ***
Dr. Randall Lockwood stated, ?Violence directed at animals by young people is a sign that
something is terribly wrong, and often acts as a warning of future violence, even killings directed against
humans.? (2) In the in the past 18 months, we have seen seven school shootings. In each one, it was learned
that the perpetrators had abuse, tortured, and killed animals before moving on to their human victims and
our nation is wondering what happened. One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to
kill or torture an animal and get away with it. Our child must be taught young that it wrong to poke at
puppy?s eyes. We can?t afford to ignore what we think of as childish exploration. Our children learn the
most important aspects of life young and if they?re not aware of what is right and wrong, it could possibly
lead to more dangerous attempts. As a society, we can not tolerate cruelty towards animals. People inclined
to inflict pain and torture upon animals have a predisposition to violence against both animals and humans.
?A 1997 study by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) reports that
youngsters convicted of animal abuse are five times more likely to commit violence against other humans
than are their peers, four times more likely to be involved in acts against property, and three times more
likely to be drug offenders.? (2)
1. No More Cruelty- http://www.geocities.com/animalabusealert/index.html
a) Cat Killers
b) Scruffy
2. Colorado High School Gunmen Linked To Animal Cruelty (web article)
http://www.hsus.org/whatnew/litteton032399.html
a)Lockwood
3. Animal Alliance-http://animalalliance.ca/factsheets/humviol.py
4. Animal Victims/Human Victims: Reports from Police Case Files-
http://members.tripod.com/nocruelty/anicru.htm#avh