Andrew David Thompson, 24, is studying to be a doctor at Michigan State University. His career, however, in osteopathic medicine has been delayed a bit by an anger issue and his tendency to kill dogs. Police say that Thompson has admitted to killing more than a dozen dogs — all Italian Greyhounds — out of anger by beating them on the floor or against the walls.
Thompson is charged with killing 13 dogs since September 2010. Police said that he would cry all the way to the dumpster as he got rid of each victim. And you thought HMOs were scary.
By the way, if you beat over a dozen dogs to death, you are still only subject to a maximum of four years in Michigan and that is higher than what he would get in other states. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of animal neglect for one of the dogs that survived.
We have previously seen defendants who take out their anger over girlfriends, jobs, or life on pets. Of course, many just find it funny or arousing to torture or kill animals.
In Thompson’s case, I cannot imagine a stronger case for a maximum sentence absent a possible mental illness defense. However, Michigan appears to have eliminated the diminished capacity defense, leaving only the more restrictive insanity defense. That would require that his lawyer Kimberly Savage show that he “lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his or her conduct, or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law.” Given the crying on the way to the dumpster, that could be difficult to show.
Source: Lansing State Journal
If the cruelty can be raised to a level of a felony, most states will bar him from practicing.
I don’t care what this guys sentence is, as long as he is never allowed to practice medicine, ala LK’s reasoning.
How is it that people can loose every shred of their humanity? Their Humanness? Or is it that they never had any to begin with? Perhaps this thug is some kind of mutant?
I can see those animals eyes without ever having seen them. The sadness is unbearable.
My primary care physician is a D.O. She works for a highly regarded medical group. She’s been my doctor for years. I’d recommend her to any friend who was looking for a good doctor.
Outside the argument concerning D.O’s (quite frankly, I prefer a D.O. qualified doctor … much more patient centered) … lottakatz made a most thought provoking comment in her post.
If he flipped out and killed dogs because of a lack of discipline, what will he do if a patient fails to repsond to his treatments???
Nesco: you are talking out your south end. My oldest son is an osteopathic physician. He went to an osteopathic medical school and was offered a residency at an MD school. In his last year as a resident, he was offered the position of Chief Resident, a position reserved for the top resident. He is board certified in Family Medicine, but because of getting tired of battling with insurance companies, he changed specialties to Emergency Medicine.
I do not get where you think a D.O. is not qualified. My son’s best friend went to an M.D. medical school and they took exactly the same coursework, using the same textbooks for the entire four years. The difference between the two programs was that my son had an additional four hundred classroom hours devoted to diagnostics and he learned to do osteopathic manipulations.
The best orthopedic surgeon I know in this area is a D.O. Other orthopedists refer the patients to him they cannot handle. As one orthopedist told me, in regard to a patient with a serous hip injury, “Her problems are way above my pay grade, I am referring her to Dr. (the osteopathic physician).”
Nescio: In all other countries they more or less ARE quacks. Weirdly enough, here in the US they have to go to an accredited medical school, get a standard M.D., and then and only then if they still want the D.O. cert they can opt to go through about another year and a half or so of training for that.
Put briefly, in the U.S. a D.O. IS an M.D. with some additional training. I don’t buy the premise of osteopathy any more than homeopathy, but I’d have no problem going to see a D.O. for medical care…in the United States.
PS: What Michaelb said.
Nescio, I am not an Osteopath but I must inform you that you you are lacking knowledge in this area. Osteopaths take the same licensing board in many states as the MDs (allelopath) do. Many are surgeons. The curriculum in their colleges is almost identical to the MDs. The premise they started with is held to a minor level today. You could damn them for that while you damn the MDs for blood letting.
Regarding the anger of the student. Other sources state he was angry when the dog would pee indoors or not come when called. These were all young puppies.
I sure hope he’s expelled from medical school.
Just to inform the locals here, an osteopath is not a qualified physician. In the US they may be seen as doctors, but any sane country would call them a quack.
Please look up medical doctor, science-based medicine, and evidence-based medicine. For easy access my blogroll has some fine suggestions for further reading.
Cheers.
His career in medicine may have gone to the dogs, but he is still less creepy than the average Republican presidential aspirant.
Better, run run, run run away . . .
Actually the Prosecutor can charge each case individually….and stack each charge…this is done in rare circumstances….but they’d have to prove which one died first….time consuming and only a misdemeanor…
The problem with the insanity/mentally ill defense is that the person charged could be placed in a mental hospital for about 18 months to see if he regains sanity to be tried…and it can continue pretty much forever….
psycho killer Qu’est-ce que c’est ?
Since serial killers often start out their career with animal cruelty he needs some close scrutiny. Also, I can think of few professions where a serial killer could hide in plain sight quite as well as the medical profession. NOLA LEO might be a close second but a MD behind your name makes you all but bulletproof criminally. This guy has poor impulse control but his long range planning skills are outstanding.
I think this is one of those “Paper Chase” moments where he needs that dime to call his mother.
Speechless!
culheath,
I wouldn’t want him to mow my lawn.
Bizarre. Anger over or at what? Why the same breed?
I do not want this man to be my doctor.