Jesus you are such a ranting mess. Talk about tl;dr. Ten hours jail time for aggravated animal cruelty is not a harsh punishment. Nix was charged with a felony but at this point I can't remember whether Nix actually received a felony conviction or not. What sort of punishment would you suggest instead? If you can find evidence that Nix's life was damaged or destroyed by his conviction, post it. The rest of us—including the TV stations and local papers—took it as a funny human interest story. Nix was hamming it up for the camera. He's a natural and could easily fit in with "Trailer Park Boys" or a similar show. It's truly awfully awful but people do laugh at each other for different reasons. I'm going to have a good laugh at your expense tonight btw. Somehow the world will keep turning. Whether you get counseling is up to you. Please try to be less of self-righteous, patronizing nosebleed though. You can be quite interesting and intelligent but you can also come across as a snotty teenaged @$$clown.
@kcar: As a self-righteous patronising nosebleed, I take offence at that.
@ Lazy: do roosters have natural rights? if not, why not?
Jesus you are such a ranting mess. Talk about tl;dr.
Ten hours jail time for aggravated animal cruelty is not a harsh punishment. Nix was charged with a felony but at this point I can't remember whether Nix actually received a felony conviction or not. What sort of punishment would you suggest instead?
If you can find evidence that Nix's life was damaged or destroyed by his conviction, post it. The rest of us—including the TV stations and local papers—took it as a funny human interest story.
Nix was hamming it up for the camera. He's a natural and could easily fit in with "Trailer Park Boys" or a similar show. It's truly awfully awful but people do laugh at each other for different reasons. I'm going to have a good laugh at your expense tonight btw. Somehow the world will keep turning.
Whether you get counseling is up to you. Please try to be less of self-righteous, patronizing nosebleed though. You can be quite interesting and intelligent but you can also come across as a snotty teenaged @$$clown.
Nix according to the news video was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a 3rd-degree felony charge that could have put Nix in prison for up to 5 years.
He got a 10 hour jail sentence. So Lazy8, let's stop hyperventilating about how "we" "destroyed" Nix.
I don't know how Jacksonville law enforcement charges people and I doubt you do. Felony classifications and attending punishments vary considerably among states.
"We" didn't try to destroy him, a prosecutor did. The first agency the owner contacted declined, so he called Animal Control, who apparently had nothing better to do. And my breathing is fine, thanks.
How often or how harshly Jacksonville charges people isn't terribly relevant to the consequences of a felony conviction. Maybe in your world spending five years in prison and a lifetime of limitations on what you can do and where you can do it are nothing compared to the life of a rooster, but I know what it would mean to me:
I would likely never work again in my chosen profession
If it had happened before I went to college I wouldn't have
Never passing a background check; this can mean never being allowed to adopt a child, for instance
Loss of or never obtaining a professional license
Restrictions on where I could live and onerous parole conditions that can extend for years after release
Depending on location I might lose the right to vote (not in Florida) or serve on a jury or hold public office
For specifics to Florida see here, but a felony conviction in Florida can have even harsher consequences in places outside Florida.
If you look at this guy, listen to his accent, and exercise your prejudices about his class and politics you might just see an opportunity to punish someone you hate, without having ever met him and knowing nothing about him other than what you see thru the lens of local news media.
This is one reason why criminal justice reform is so hard. People look at some behavior they despise and apply the hammer of criminal law to the problem without concern for the downstream consequences.
A ten hour jail sentence for killing an animal, apparently without much provocation, seems fair. Destruction of private property should also concern you, given your (AFAICT) libertarian leanings.
Why the f*ck you choose to believe Nix's side of the story, even though it was contradicted by eyewitnesses, is beyond me. According to the kids who gave eyewitness testimony to the police, the rooster was not attacking or threatening Nix. The kids say that Nix went out into the road with a steel pipe and hit the animal in the head.
Because I've seen how wrong local news media reports can be, how unreliable witness testimony can be (especially as reported thru the media), and because I've known many roosters and his story matches my experience with them. Also, y'know, a presumption of innocence and some idea what the word "cruelty" means.
Finally, I'll say this: if I had to defend myself against one of your roosters and in doing so unintentionally killed your bird, I'd tell what had happened. That would be the right thing to do. Nix didn't do that.
Yes, off with his head. It's only fair.
You need professional therapy. Im sorry you apparently went though legal Hell but from I can tell that experience colors and even controls how you view legal matters and policy issues. You see Nix as an innocent trampled by the state. The evidence about his behavior and the appropriate punishment he received don't support your notion.
Seriously, you're stuck in a deep rut. Talk to someone. You may have something like PTSD.
Wow, you're a psychotherapist? I appreciate the diagnosis, this has saved me thousands in professional fees.
Your sympathy rings a bit hollow. If you were truly sorry about any trauma inflicted by the legal system you wouldn't be so enthusiastic about inflicting it on others. You also might want to fine-tune your diagnostic skills a bit; the longest time I spent in jail was filming a documentary in college. They let me out at the end of the day and I didn't even get raped. I have, however, had friends and acquaintances go thru it, and I'm capable of having empathy for people who aren't just like me. Even Florida crackers.
@SFW: yes, Nix is entertaining. You could stick him in an episode of "Trailer Park Boys"and he'd steal the show.
And with that little snippet of classist bigotry I'll rest my case.
According to the news video he's charged with a felony. Go look up what that means and get back to me.
I hope you never meet an angry rooster, but if you do I hope someone on your jury has met one too. And I hope you have pockets deep enough to hire a good lawyer, because...well you looked up what the word "felony" means by now, right?
Nix according to the news video was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a 3rd-degree felony charge that could have put Nix in prison for up to 5 years.
He got a 10 hour jail sentence. So Lazy8, let's stop hyperventilating about how "we" "destroyed" Nix.
I don't know how Jacksonville law enforcement charges people and I doubt you do. Felony classifications and attending punishments vary considerably among states.
A ten hour jail sentence for killing an animal, apparently without much provocation, seems fair. Destruction of private property should also concern you, given your (AFAICT) libertarian leanings.
Why the f*ck you choose to believe Nix's side of the story, even though it was contradicted by eyewitnesses, is beyond me. According to the kids who gave eyewitness testimony to the police, the rooster was not attacking or threatening Nix. The kids say that Nix went out into the road with a steel pipe and hit the animal in the head.
Finally, I'll say this: if I had to defend myself against one of your roosters and in doing so unintentionally killed your bird, I'd tell what had happened. That would be the right thing to do. Nix didn't do that.
You need professional therapy. Im sorry you apparently went though legal Hell but from I can tell that experience colors and even controls how you view legal matters and policy issues. You see Nix as an innocent trampled by the state. The evidence about his behavior and the appropriate punishment he received don't support your notion.
Seriously, you're stuck in a deep rut. Talk to someone. You may have something like PTSD.
@SFW: yes, Nix is entertaining. You could stick him in an episode of "Trailer Park Boys"and he'd steal the show.
Witnesses say the rooster was not a menace or nuisance.
Witnesses say Nix went out into the road with a steel pole and hit the rooster. The animal was not in Nix's yard when Nix hit him.
AFAIK Nix was not charged with "failing to properly dispose of the corpse" as you claim.
Nix was given 30 hours of jail time. Is that "destroying" a man to you?
How was your last day in jail?
According to the news video he's charged with a felony. Go look up what that means and get back to me.
There is no angry, power-hungry state here for you to hysterically rant about.
Please, please: don't ever try to represent yourself in a court of law.
I hope you never meet an angry rooster, but if you do I hope someone on your jury has met one too. And I hope you have pockets deep enough to hire a good lawyer, because...well you looked up what the word "felony" means by now, right?
@SFW: that story with the dachshund and the hammer is painful. Put those two chuckleheads on a desert island.
That's how I felt for a long time but I know Gilbert now and he's the sweetest, hardest-working guy. Not bright by any means, clearly. But cruel? no way. I believe it really caused him a lot of anguish at the time and still today.
Since we're onto the law/justice angle and not the fantastic rant angle, he was charged with cruelty to animals. It sounds as if that animal was dispatched cleanly, if somewhat unorthodoxically lol you know what I mean. There's a guy here who bashed a dachshund with a hammer and was charged with cruelty but was found innocent. Long long story but it boiled down to not having the intent to actually be cruel: it was the most humane way he could think of to end the dog.* IIRC he had to reimburse the owner for the value of the dog but was free to remain employed and 30 years later he's still working. Still not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but not a cruel guy by any stretch of the imagination.
*He was house/dog-sitting for the tenant and the dog was crying all day when left alone. The landlord was unaware of the long-term housesitting arrangement and was starting to get suspicious, seeing only Gilbert there and never the tenant. Gilbert's buddy (who had invited himself to sleep on the sofa) convinced him that the dog was going to get them all bounced out onto the street. Things went downhill from there.
It's all fun and games until somebody goes to prison on a felony rap.
I've raised chickens for 40 years or so, and I've killed many roosters for exactly the behavior the victim y'all are making fun of is reporting. Roosters can be vicious, and they have spikes on their legs called spurs. They can really hurt you.
If you know chickens (and are big enough) you can defend yourself pretty easily, but little kids are especially vulnerable. Charging this guy with felony animal cruelty is a travesty.
"This guy" left the rooster in a ditch, dead. Apparently he knew the animal belonged to his neighbor/friend. Not such a great guy.
It's all fun and games until somebody goes to prison on a felony rap.
I've raised chickens for 40 years or so, and I've killed many roosters for exactly the behavior the victim y'all are making fun of is reporting. Roosters can be vicious, and they have spikes on their legs called spurs. They can really hurt you.
If you know chickens (and are big enough) you can defend yourself pretty easily, but little kids are especially vulnerable. Charging this guy with felony animal cruelty is a travesty.
Simply reacting to his comedy routine. He's having a good laugh about itâhe's serious, but funnyâhas a great delivery. The neighbor probably has pitbulls that wouldn't hurt a kitten, too.
"I's defendin' myself, I's fearin' for my safety; the chicken, y'knowâD-d-died!"
It's all fun and games until somebody goes to prison on a felony rap.
I've raised chickens for 40 years or so, and I've killed many roosters for exactly the behavior the victim y'all are making fun of is reporting. Roosters can be vicious, and they have spikes on their legs called spurs. They can really hurt you.
If you know chickens (and are big enough) you can defend yourself pretty easily, but little kids are especially vulnerable. Charging this guy with felony animal cruelty is a travesty.
point taken. 
