A judge, who was fed-up with animal abusers, decided to give them a taste of their own medicine as he handed down their sentences. His unusual but appropriate punishment has the internet saying all animal abusers should be forced to stand before this judge. What a hero!
Michael Cicconetti is more than just an Ohio judge. He is an animal lover with a soft spot for our furry friends ever since getting his first dog. Herman, a dachshund-mix, was Cicconetti’s best friend throughout his childhood, and Kasey, a 10-year-old Bernese mountain dog, is the judge’s current companion. His passion for animals isn’t confined to home, however. It spills over into his courtroom too.
As an animal lover, Judge Cicconetti finds it particularly difficult to see animals being neglected or abused. Sadly, that’s exactly what happens thousands of times every day all over the world. What’s worse, very few of those responsible are ever given appropriate sentences. However, Judge Cicconetti is changing that — at least for those who find themselves in his courtroom in Painesville, Ohio.
This animal-loving judge is doing everything in his power to protect those who have no voice and no one else to stand up for them. And, he isn’t about to let anyone get away with neglecting or abusing animals. In fact, he dishes out punishments that almost guarantee the abuser will never mistreat an innocent animal again by giving them a taste of their own medicine.
Although he’s restricted by law as to what he can do, he’s still managed to come up with simple, yet effective ways to make perpetrators feel almost exactly what the animals they abused or neglected felt when they were being mistreated. These punishments won’t endanger anyone, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t deal with a little discomfort and embarrassment, he explained when speaking with IHeartDogs.
In one such case, a woman found herself in front of Judge Michael Cicconetti after her dog was found living in complete filth. Alyssa Morrow had left her seven-year-old pet dog, Moose, in a dirty, hoarder-like house until the dog was severely emaciated. His former owner claimed he had been left in the dirt-filled house for only a week, but images seemed to indicate otherwise since the dog was nothing but skin and bones.
So, the judge thought Morrow should get a similar experience in order to know what her dog must have felt in such a disgusting situation. He ruled that she had to spend a day in filth at a local dump, reflecting on the conditions she forced the dog to live in.
Judge Mike had a few words for her, too. “I want you to go down to the county dump, to the landfill, and I want them to find the stinkiest, smelliest, God-awful odor place they can find in that dump and I want you to sit there for eight hours tomorrow, to think about what you did to that dog while you smell the odor,” he began. “If you puke, you puke.”
After being told she would be sitting in literal filth, the woman wasn’t exactly thrilled. “I definitely didn’t think I’d be here [at a dump], but I’d rather be here than jail. I can’t complain,” Morrow said as she picked up litter. The alternative was to spend 90 days in jail.
In another case, a woman abandoned 35 kittens late at night in two different parks, where they were later discovered by park rangers, IHeartCats reported. When the kittens were found, they were sick from being left out in the cold, and sadly, nine of them passed away.
Shockingly, the litters were traced to the woman by the ID collars they were wearing, proving she’s not only cruel but not very smart either. Judge Cicconetti handed down a sentence that meant the guilty party had to spend a night alone in the cold, snowy outdoors by herself, in addition to jail time and fines, according to Animal Channel.
“How would you like to be dumped off at a metro park late at night, spend the night, listening to the coyotes … 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?” he asked the woman.
So, how did the judge come up with his unique form of punishment? Judge Michael Cicconetti realized that standard punishments seemed to have little effect when he began to see a lot of repeat offenders. That’s when he knew he would have to get creative in his sentencing in order to tackle the problem.
Judge Cicconetti hopes that his creative, headline-grabbing sentences will help raise awareness of ongoing animal abuse and neglect and wants people to know that mistreating animals is a serious issue — one that should carry equally serious consequences. The punishment should fit the crime, so Judge Cicconetti’s sentences are perfectly appropriate.
After being abandoned at a trash dump for a day or left in the cold outdoors alone in the dark overnight, hopefully, these offenders had it drilled into their head what it must have been like for the animals they mistreated. Let’s hope they never forget it. This judge is an example to be followed and commended. His creative punishments for animal abusers are on the right track. Let’s pay tribute to his brilliant work by telling others about it. Maybe a few other judges will see what Mike Cicconetti has done and take note.