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Woman who dumped kittens must spend night in the woods


SevenSeasJim

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Now this is a cool punishment.

PAINESVILLE, Ohio (AP) - An animal rescuer who abandoned 35 kittens in two parks has been sentenced to a night in the woods without food or shelter.

Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael A. Cicconetti, known for handing out unusual punishments, sentenced Michelle M. Murray to the spend the cold night alone when she begins her 15-day jail sentence next week.

Murray, 25, pleaded guilty last month to abandoning domestic animals, a second-degree misdemeanor. The kittens were recovered but many had upper respiratory infections and nine died.

"How would you like to be dumped off at a Metropark late at night, spend the night listening to the coyotes coming upon you, listening to the raccoons around you in the dark night, and sit out there in the cold not knowing where you're going to get your next meal, not knowing when you are going to be rescued?" Cicconetti asked Murray. "That's what you're going to do."

Murray must report to jail at 6 p.m. Wednesday where she will be taken into custody of the Lake Metroparks rangers, according to the judge's sentence. The rangers will take her to a remote location in a park where she must remain until dawn.

The Metroparks will provide Murray with a means of communication for emergency purposes.

"We're taking the precautions to ensure her safety," Cicconetti said.

Many of the kittens died a slow death, said Candace Hertzel, executive director of the Lake County Humane Society. She approved of the creative sentence.

"I don't think it's harsh at all," Hertzel said. "We're thrilled to see she got some jail time and Judge Cicconetti sends a messages that any cruelty to animals will not be tolerated in his jurisdiction."

Cicconetti also sentenced Murray to three years' probation and ordered her not to own or care for any animals during that time. She must pay $3,200 in restitution to Lake County Humane Society and $500 to Lake Metroparks.

She faced up to 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.

Murray apologized again in court Thursday for her actions. She said at a previous hearing that she was having family problems at the time she abandoned the kittens.

Cicconetti said he was disturbed by the fact that she made trips to dump the kittens on two different days.

"You come back home and have time to think about it and do it again," he said. "That's a little more deliberate."

Cicconetti's past sentences have include ordering a man, who called an officer a pig while shouting obscenities during a confrontation, to stand on a city sidewalk for two hours in a pen next to a 350-pound pig along with a sign reading, "This is not a police officer."

Painesville is about 30 miles northeast of Cleveland.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Part of me wishes that woman had children, infants, even, and that the punishment would involve dumping her kids in the forest for a night...with closed-circuit TV set up so she could be forced to watch. (Of course, this punishes the kids, too, which is unacceptable.)

Aloha,

Brad

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Interestingly, this happened about 5 miles from my house... The park she had to spend the night in is about 10 miles from me... Small world, eh? Anyhow, the Judge--Cicconetti--is NOTORIOUS for his 'unusual' sentances...

For what it's worth, she only spent a couple of hours out there. It was FRIGID that night (Single digit temps, WELL below 0 wind chill)... So she was there for a few hours before the Judge called it off, and she spent the rest of the night in jail. As a result of the National and international (Apparently) attention she got, her lawyer asked for and got her sentance reduced to house arrest instead of actual jail time, because the "negative publicity" was seen as punishment in and of itself...

I'll try to remember to keep you guys posted of other interesting Cicconetti sentances as they come up...

SfC

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Could you please go over and egg her house for me Steve? I'll be your best friend!

If I decide to, I'll make sure I take (and post) pictures... Unfortunately, I'll have to let the situation settle down for a hot minute... She's under house arrest, so I'm sure SOMEONE's watching her house... And I'm sure that she's getting a lot of flak anyhow... That said, perhaps someday in the future...

S

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