David J. LeBlanc Jr. will be going to jail for five years for a horrific crime of beating a newborn calf to death in front of friends after the New Orleans Saints lost to the Dallas Cowboys last season. Also convicted in the case were Dwayne J. Jenkins, 36, Christopher R. Murphy, 27 and Carnie B. Smith, 29. Smith stole the calf to be beated to death by LeBlanc.
The men dragged the calf to a parking lot during a Saints party and LeBlanc proceeded to beat it to death with a shovel. Jenkins and Smith watched and Murphy removed the calf’s carcass and dumped it. Murphy later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor theft and also was placed on probation.
State District Judge Martin Coady handed down the sentence for the use of “a dangerous weapon” to cause the “painful death” of a defenseless animal. I can certainly understand the sentence in light of the crime, but I would not call a shovel a “dangerous weapon.”
LeBlanc asked for mercy, explaining “[prison] would ruin my life completely. I have a kid on the way. I could not do that.” He will have to try.
Source: Dallas News
Jonathan Turley
Thuh lawh is often misinterpretated …
http://blogdredd.blogspot.com/2010/12/keystone-complex-to-rescue-6.html
I am not a vegetarian but I don’t eat veal. I grew up in WI and have seen many calves born, approximately half destined to be veal parmigiana. So, I don’t eat it. Partly because they confine the calves in pens so they can’t move and stuff them with milk to make their meat tender. Ever heard of “milk fed veal”? Well that’s what it is, the equivalent of pate de foie gras, which I also won’t eat.
I also know about slaughterhouses and, while there are instances of cruelty, generally they do not club animals to death with shovels.
A dangerous weapon…a shovel…they do cause blisters on a hand…In reality anything can be a dangerous weapon if used for that purpose…such as a pencil, pen, book, yeah, book….the list is not exhaustive….
Suppose he had beaten a rat to death with a shovel. Would he also be deserving of 5 years? Are cattle more sensitive to pain than rats? Do veal calves suffer greatly less in being raised, transported, and slaughtered?
I’m not defending LeBlanc, but rather pointing out that people who get outraged over instances of animal cruelty are often deeply inconsistent in their attitudes toward animals in other contexts.
another reason not to watch football.
with this fella,beating a calf would be considered a domestic disturbance.
rafflaw,
I haven’t gone for that run, yet, but you’re right that it probably won’t help much.. 🙂 If I don’t go soon, thought, it will be dark.
I actually hesitated before posting it. Horrible story — difficult to comprehend…
I don’t know much about it — maybe she had some sort of psychotic break…