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[disnut8]

Teens plead guilty in puppy abuse case

By D.L. BENNETT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/26/07

Two teenage brothers pleaded guilty Friday to torturing and killing a small puppy by baking it to death inside a gas oven.

Justin and Joshua Moulder essentially threw themselves on the mercy of the court Friday, entering a blind guilty plea to nine felony counts. They face up to 90 years in prison.

Sentencing was sent for Feb. 9.  (NOTE:  That’s my birthday – it’s going to be a great one now!!)

The plea avoids a second trial, which was scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection.

Police contend that in August, Joshua and Justin Moulder broke into the community center at the Englewood Manor Apartments on Dalton Street and brought with them a tan-and-white puppy.

The brothers, police say, removed two shelves from a commercial gas range, put the puppy inside, and turned on the gas.

The Moulders, who lived at the apartment complex with their sister, also destroyed computers and defaced walls at the center, authorities said. They then boasted to friends about what they had done, according to prosecutors.

The brothers' first trial, in December, ended in a mistrial after one juror refused to consider whether they were guilty of hog-tying the 13-pound, mixed-breed puppy with duct tape and stuffing it live inside the searing hot oven. 

(NOTE:  In the trial, the prosecution used a pound puppy as a “stand-in” for the victim puppy.  It was not harmed in any way but did demonstrate how a puppy would feel and react to the torture.  All that “testimony” was thrown out by the court.  The pound puppy was then adopted by a caring family with another dog who wanted a playmate.)

Beth Haynes of Atlanta, one of six women on the December jury, said the case had holes in it but jurors spent time going over the details and resolved that the two brothers were guilty of the horrific charges against them.

One woman, Haynes said, immediately said she wouldn't convict on any charge and refused to budge over two days of deliberations.

The holdout juror, Elizabeth Stronge, later contended that prosecutors simply didn't give her enough evidence to prove their case, which was largely circumstantial.

NOTE:  This case has sickened me from the start.  My cats are allowed nowhere NEAR the oven when either of us is using it.  All five of them will run into a closet or a cabinet when we open them but they have never wanted to be around the oven.  I don’t think any of the many pets we’ve been blessed with over the years have shown any interest in an oven.  That poor puppy and what he was thinking when he died.  Before he died.  I can't even imagine it.

[elmono311]

I can't read stuff like this

[LostArtofRolando]

Me either.  I just adopted a dog today... a one-year-old Terrier who loves to give hugs and kisses.

[jitspoe]

Must have been Korean.

What makes puppies any different from cows?

[KnacK]

smaller ribs....

[disnut8]

What makes puppies any different from cows?

A cow can't greet you at the door when you get home from a bad day at the office.  A cow can't lay on the sofa with you when you have the flu.  A cow isn't going to alert you if there's an intruder in the house.

[Vengeance]

My 8-year-old daughter's reply to this?

"Those fucking brats!"

Now, I told her that she can't say those words, but I was incredibly impressed she used the term correctly.

[jitspoe]

disnut: Sure it can.  There are a number of people who have cows as pets.  Hell, in India, they worship them.  Now I'm not trying to promote bovine companionship here, but it seems a bit hypocritical to say, "Oh, it's so terrible that they killed <insert common pet animal here>." while the burgers are cooking on the grill.

I just like to be realistic.  If you like a nice, juicy steak, that's fine.  If you enjoy some lean dog meat, that's cool, too.  I don't understand what makes one so taboo.  Of course, torturing is never acceptable in my book, regardless of animal.

[disnut8]

People in this country eat all sorts of things - cows, bison, seafood, snake, pidgeon, rabbit, pheasant, pig, frog, squirrel, deer, bear, etc.  But we definitely draw the line at domesticated house pets.  I don't eat veal or lamb for personal reasons but if I go into a restaurant and it's on the menu, I don't walk out.  If I saw dogburgers on there, I would.  Most hungry Americans will eat canned dog food rather than the dog itself.

India worships cows.  It could be said America worships dogs and cats.  And I'll tell you this.  If those pricks had done what they did to one of my cats, I would do the same thing right back to them.

[jitspoe]

Which brings up another interesting topic -- is cannibalism wrong?

[disnut8]

African bullfrogs do it (Disney education there).

If you have to eat another human as a last resort, do it.  That person should already be dead, though.  Don't kill a person just to get meat.  I'd eat veal or lamb before I did that.

[Vengeance]

Which brings up another interesting topic -- is cannibalism wrong?

Not if the main course was a bad person.

I'm kidding. Kinda...

[P!nk]

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”
-Gandhi

http://youtube.com/watch?v=15bwhVxw-Bg

Might of already seen it, a bit of comic relief, although it is really mean on the owner's part.

As for this particular story, whatever motive they had to torture (and eventually kill) a puppy had to be extremely pathetic and idiotic. Bragging over such an excruciating act, however, is utterly shocking. No guilt nor shame, all fun and games, you have to wonder if it had anything to do with how they were raised.

[disnut8]

With that Pet Spa, I have a cat who would be extremely happy in it.  "Fresh running water!!!  Life is good!!!".  I have to leave the bathroom sink running a small stream every morning so he can get his fill.  Water doesn't bother him in the least.

Wondering if this was because of how the boys were raised.  The article said they lived with their sister.  From that, I can infer they don't have a parental influence in their lives right now.

[jitspoe]

lol P!nk!  At first I was like, "Wow, the cat is taking it pretty well", and then the water started.  Funniest thing I've seen in a while.  You could probably only get the cat in there once.  The expression on his face when they were drying him off at the end.. "I hate you guys so much."