Have you been watching the Netflix series Making a Murderer? If you haven’t heard of the engrossing documentary series, it's sweeping the nation and creating controversy about the legal system as applied to man named Steven Avery. Avery was wrongly convicted of rape and ultimately exonerated after 18 years of imprisonment with the plan to reap a significant financial settlement for his unjust imprisonment. He was subsequently convicted of murdering Teresa Halbach, despite suspicions that police planted evidence crucial to connecting him to Halbach’s death, and remains in jail today.
I watched the series with a fascinated eye and was disturbed by the reports of Avery having committed an act of animal abuse prior to the wrongful rape conviction and suspicion of murder. According to ABC News, Avery pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in 1982 after he threw his family's cat over a bonfire. The Associated Press reported that Avery poured gasoline on a cat and threw it into a bonfire, saying in the series, “I was young and stupid.”
Avery’s history of being cruel to animals should be considered an early indicator of his potential to inflict harm upon people. There are known correlations between animal cruelty and human violence. According to The Humane Society, studies have established the following links between animal cruelty and human violence:
- Of those arrested for animal crimes, 65% had been arrested for battery against another person, according to a 2001-2004 Chicago Police Department study.
- Of 36 convicted multiple murderers questioned in one study, 46% admitted committing acts of animal torture as adolescents.
- Of seven school shootings that took place across the country between 1997 and 2001, all involved boys who had previously committed acts of animal cruelty.
As an advocate of animal welfare, I’ve reported on animal cruelty offenses in the past for PetMD. Who can forget the horrible tale of Patrick the Pit Bull, who was severely neglected, then thrown down a laundry shoot in Newark, NJ and left to die? (See The Will to Survive - Patrick's Story Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3)
Kisha Curtis, Patrick’s owner and abuser, ultimately was sentenced to 18 months probation and had to pay $2,000 to the New Jersey ASPCA that provided medical care for Patrick after he was discovered. Many animal advocates, including myself, don’t feel Curtis’ sentence was commensurate with her actions.
From the point of view of the law, animals are considered property and don't hold the same value as humans when it comes to prosecution for cruelty or death. Fortunately, the government authorities now have the power to track and ultimately better prosecute animal cruelty offenses.
A recent article in The Washington Post introduced us to Mary Lou Randour, a psychiatrist who found her calling and second career in being an animal rights advocate. Randour found there was no one keeping track of animal-abuse crimes and that even the most egregious cases, like dogfighting, fell under the category of ‘other’ when local police agencies reported their statistics to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’ National Incident Based Reporting System. Randour has lobbied the FBI to change their classification of animal cruelty crimes and in 2014, animal cruelty was give a separate category of offense instead of simply ‘other’. The FBI’s animal cruelty crimes is organized into four categories:
1. Simple or gross neglect 2. Intentional abuse and torture 3. Organized abuse (cock and dog fighting, etc.) 4. Animal sexual abuseStarting this year, the FBI will also start collecting data on animal cruelty offenses just like it does other crimes. Randour is devoted to ensuring local law enforcement reports animal cruelty statistics to the FBI, as the FBI’s collection of such data is voluntary. Her perspective is commensurate with The Humane Society of the United States, as she states, “there is overwhelming evidence that [animal abuse] is linked to crimes against people, including violent crimes and domestic violence. It’s not about protecting people or animals, it’s protecting them both.”
So, although Making a Murderer creates the awareness that Steven Avery may be the victim of a police-based plot to imprison him, I don’t feel that he’s completely innocent. His documented history of animal abuse sheds light on his potential to cause serious harm to people.
Thank you for reading this article. Your constructive comments are welcome (although I may not respond).Please follow my adventures in veterinary medicine and life via:Instagram @PatrickMahaneyTwitter @PatrickMahaneyCopyright of this article (2015) is owned by Dr Patrick Mahaney, Veterinarian and Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist. Republishing any portion of this article must first be authorized by Dr Patrick Mahaney. Requests for republishing must be approved by Dr Patrick Mahaney and received in written format.