This would have seemed a good case for prosecutorial discretion. Wallace Weatherholt, 63, was operating a tour boat when he allegedly dangled a fish in the water to feed the alligators and give his passengers a good picture. The alligator took the fish . . . and his right hand. It was a stupid and illegal act if true. However, I would put the act of having one’s hand bitten off by a nine-foot alligator as sufficient punishment without the need to add a second-degree misdemeanor.
Florida Fish and Wildlife authorities concluded that Weatherbolt was operating a tour for Captain Doug’s Small Airport Tours in Everglades City for an Indiana family when the attack occurred when he dangled the fish.
Even after his Captain Hook moment, Weatherbolt was able to steer the boat back to the docks — no small feat.
I understand the need to deter this type of crime. However, anyone seeing Weatherbolt around the docks is likely to be deterred from following suit. What do you think?
Source: Daily News
I’ve taken these tours twice. There aren’t any mensa members captaining these craft. I agree w/ the discretion, chrissake he lost his hand. That seems like classic natural consequences to me..the best type of consequences.
I agree the man has suffered enough, the alligator however should suffer some punishments for “biting the hand that feeds it”
I’m laughing my butt off….. I live in Florida, and the first things you learn here are, in general. Number One, anywhere that there’s water in Florida, there can be an ALLIGATOR…… Number Two, don’t feed the Alligators…. it causes them to loose their fear of humans.
The law is the law….. They say…. I’d like this cased tried to a jury….. Sometimes they have more sense…..it’s a rarity….. But it happens…..
Law of the jungle trumping law of the land. He’s suffered enough.
Mespo,
You’re absolutely correct….
I would have thought prosecutors had more important things to do.
He should have tried marshmallows mainly because you have to throw them in the water. Of course I wouldn’t know anything about that as I have never witnessed anybody breaking the law by giving alligators something they really love to eat … like marshmallows.
“This would have seemed a good case for prosecutorial discretion
…
I understand the need to deter this type of crime. However, anyone seeing Weatherbolt around the docks is likely to be deterred from following suit.
What do you think?”
Definitely a missed opportunity for discretion.
Even if the prosecutor is angling for reelection, if that is the way it is done there, the voters are going to notice some insensitivity.
It seems to me to involve a prosecutor that has become a sociopath, hopefully only temporarily.
I see your reasoning, but for the sake of argument, are you suggesting that discretion would encompass recognizing amputation of a body part as adequate punishment in the eyes of the state?
I’d be happy for the court to consider the man as now being disabled, and to show some leniency in that regard, but I really do not think the state should go around interpreting being disabled as “punishment.” That’s actually scary, speaking as a disabled person.
Nal,
You are correct….. But here they caught him red handed so to speak….
It’s just this kind of thing that inspired Jerry Reed to write “Amos Moses:”
This begs the question
“What is the purpose of such a prosecution?”
If it is to discourage him from doing it again, it would seem unnecessary.
If it is to discourage others from doing the same . ditto.
I get the feeling that this is unreasoning bureaucratic retribution for breaking the letter of the law.
I suspect that the law envisaged ‘feeding’ as throwing lumps of flesh.
The problem is one of alligators associating humans with food – so this incident was pushing that association to the ultimate.
On the other hand, ( completely unintentional usage!I I swear it. Really!) I understand that humans are classified as “unfit for consumption” due to the levels of toxins, etc in our bodies. So maybe the feeding of human flesh – even if inadvertently – should be treated as a very serious wildlife protection issue.
Nah, put a little Barbecue sauce on a hand, and it tastes just like chicken to a gator….. I frequent many of the nature preserves near my house in So. Florida, and I’ve seen Gators eat many things…. Birds, Turtles, Snakes, smaller gators, Racoons & Possums, to name a few. They’re not too choosey & and they’re very opportunistic. During breeding season for the many birds here in Florida, they wait under birds nests for the chicks to fall out of the trees. This Bozo should have known better.
Guess the hand didn’t taste too good as it was found later. Stupid action have no sympathy for the man.
Mespo,
shouldn’t that be the Law of the “Hand”?
Too bad this man didn’t have a cat; would have saved him some grief. They teach you not to dangle food in front of a SMALL animal, let alone an alligator for crying out loud!
But I’m with Nal. I would have thought the prosecutors had better things to do! I sincerely hope this happened ins a REALLY small county!
Maybe the judge will sentence him to hand served.
Losing a hand to an alligator, local news. Being prosecuted for losing a hand to an alligator, statewide news, at least. The point being, don’t feed the alligators!
It confuses city folk to discuss these matters.
Let’s make it easy.
In Overpopulated, polluted, corrupt, City X, it is against the law to put your hand inside the mysterious depths of an ATM machine.
Joe Dweller puts his hand inside an ATM machine just to excite some geeks.
His hand is deposited in the nightly pile of ins, alongside the pile of outs.
Cops find out and beef him for extending beyond the civil borders, a misdemeanor.
The DA, running for office again, because she lost the dog-catcher election, decides to go “nukular”.
End of fantasy.
>”I understand the need to deter this type of crime.”-JT <
Crime? REALLY? Stuipdity, perhaps; reckless, almost certainly, but 'criminal'? Come on. Get real, here. Oh wait. It IS Florida. Ok. Never mind. Makes sense after all.
Kraaken.
“this type of crime”
I had missed that.
The build on that would be to introduce the War on Terror.
People feeding alligators – particularly if they are Muslim (the people, not the alligators) could well be terrorists training alligators to attack.
Somebody should dig deep into Weatherbolt’s history, associations and on-line activity.
Threat is everywhere !!!
I would venture to say the reason he was charged was a CYA to add a measure of protection from civil liability for the local gov’t or agency. If they could show that he was engaged in a criminal act, the locality would have additional defenses if he filed a tort against them.
Sad that it has to come to this, I agree losing the hand was enough.
If thy right hand offend [the state]…
Oh, things are just getting out of hand in Florida. I wonder who fingered him for prosecution??? Whatever, the poor guy will now either be on the hook for a bunch of legal fees or else get palmed off on the public defenders. Mitt needs to say something about this and give the guy a hand.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Fine the man. It will teach him a good lesson. Every time he looks at the receipt, he will remember not to feed the alligators.
The defendant should demand a jury trial if he can get one on a misdemeanor in that unreconstructed state. He should represent himself. When he picks the jury he should make a point of pointing his stub at the prosecutor and the cops.
>”If thy right hand offend [the state]…<
Oh Malisha! You are SUCH a hoot!
Pat, The alligator was killed. The hand was found inside it (which may be one reason that it was not in condition to be re-attached).
One hand in the alligator…is worth 2 degree misdemeanor
what did they do, put the cuff in him.
on not in
HenMan
Fine the man. It will teach him a good lesson. Every time he looks at the receipt, he will remember not to feed the alligators.
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And this from the man who has two arms sewn on backwards due to tussling with bobcats. Where’s your compassion?!
Who the hell shot the alligator? That schmuck should be the person charged with a crime. The alligators in that neck of the woods have a long memory. That schmuck better not go swimming.
Having lived in FL for a time (a toilet with palm trees) I understand a possible motivation for the prosecution. There are a lot of stupid people who think it is cool and fun to feed the gators. The gators become more aggressive and have think of humans as a meal ticket. Often this means death or injury for someone other than the feeder. By charging the doofus the state gets attention for the seriousness of his stupidity.
I would hope this will draw attention to the problem & then be dropped. But would people be upset if a bank robber was shot during a hold up? Would we say “aw, poor dear lost a lung so lets not charge him for the shoot out”?
depeltonon Pelton
thanks so much for the Jerry Reed video. Spent the entire evening listening to him.
bettykath:
Yeah, I did that not long ago too when I rediscovered him again for the umpteenth time.
Don Pelton (I don’t know I created all that “depeltonon” garble! ?)