Andrea Rosebrock 
Quentin L. Pruett, 29 of Decatur, IL was sentenced to three years for on his conviction of animal torture.
On March 2 of this year Macon County animal control wardens were called to the Division Street house after a complaint from a landlord who found the body of a dog hanging in the basement from an electrical cord.
On May 17, it took a jury only 50 minute to find Pruett guilty of aggravated cruelty to an animal for hanging a white pit bull in the basement of a house in the 1300 block of East Division Street.
Assistant Public Defender David Ellison asked for the verdict to be set aside because the evidence was circumstantial and when that request was denied by Circuit Court Judge Katherine McCarthy who agreed the evidence was circumstantial but said it was sufficient to have found Pruett guilty, Ellison asked that the sentence be probation rather then prison time. Again she denied his request.
“Probation is not appropriate,” McCarthy said. “It would not underscore the seriousness of this crime. This is a horrendous set of facts.”
Deters said veterinarian Shelley Stevens testified at the trial that the dog was still alive when hanged and had been starved for several days prior to the hanging. He said the dog went through suffering for no reason.
And as a psychological evaluation of Pruett showed no ‘defects,’ this led Deters to conclude the Pruett was ‘just plain mean.’
With prior convictions for burglary, forgery and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, Pruett was eligible for a prison term of up to 10 years. Assistant State’s Attorney Duane Deters said the aggravated cruelty to an animal felony was a lesser charge and asked that Pruett be sentenced to five years in prison on the animal torture conviction.
Pruett plans to appeal his conviction but personally I think he got off light especially when you consider the pain the poor dog went through and the horrendous cruel torture of being starved and hanged.
Maybe it’s just the mood I find myself in today or maybe it’s Mason County and Sebastion County and the poor baby with the hacked off leg but I favor the old expression “hangin’s too good for him” as a way to deal with this cruel bastard. A hanging for a hanging, an amputation for an amputation. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE??!! And why is it that you can lynch a poor animal and get only three years in prison? He should be stood on a scaffold in the town square and made to believe up until the last moment that he will be hanged just so he can feel the terror that poor animal felt and then he should be dropped through the trap door to the ground, given a change of pants and carted straight to a special prison work program where he is re-educated as to the fact that animals have feelings by being made to care for them in places like Mason and Sebastion counties.
But it will never happen because the American system of jurisprudence still fails to set appropriate values to the lives of the animals under their care, as is shown by the fact that WE are still gassing “surplus” animals.
When will we learn?
jb
John,
Dad by day I wonder if ‘man’ even has the capacity to learn and understand anymore, except for those few individuals who speak out, get angry and do something and we are definitely in the minority!
“What’s wrong with people?” I can only surmise that too many have lost the capacity to care, to empathize and to feel beyond themselves! Life is disposable whether it’s human life or animal life, that’s the type of society we live in today.
Kids growing up without discipline because it’s considered ‘child abuse,’ every other scene on TV and in movies; visions of senseless violence, gangs roam the streets with impunity and the innocent and defenseless are routinely neglected and abused. Criminals get off with a ’slap on the wrist.’ The victims are treated worse then those who victimize.
These are the lessons that are learned today so what is the life of an animal worth when the life of a human being is worth so little, after all, ‘it’s only a dog.’
And that’s my sad little commentary on life and society and animal abuse.
Let’s face it, until George W. is out of office, we will never have more strict laws when it comes to animal cruelty. How do I know this? BECAUSE HE STILL HUNTS ANIMALS!!!! As does our worthless VP Dick. Although, he isn’t able to shoot anything but people apparently. Our leaders are still looking at animals as just that – animals….to be shot and killed. Why would they give someone only 3 years for killing an animal when they do it for sport? The laws in this country are ridiculous. There are a lot of people with blood on their hands who will pay dearly someday. I would love to be there to see it happen.