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Bills link animal cruelty to interpersonal violence
Testimony on the bill from Department of Law's Assistant Attorney General Annie Carpeneti turned out this troubling fact: More often than not, domestic violence charges are resolved as misdemeanors, not felonies. Part of that is due to the nature of the justice system, where pleas are a tool both sides use. Part of that is also due to the tough nature of domestic violence cases, which can hinge on a victim's testimony that sometimes is recanted. They're difficult to prove. "The reality of criminal prosecution of crimes against people in our state, and especially domestic violence crimes, they tend to be resolved as Class A misdemeanors," she said. "Many serious assaults against women and children, felony assaults, do resolve as misdemeanors." Carpeneti said the law department's historic position has been opposition to creating a first offense felony charge for animal cruelty, largely because of the conflict with crimes against humans. "It's an issue of parity to us, that human beings should be protected more seriously than animals," she said. The department isn't taking a position on the animal cruelty bill, she said. Testimony from Attorney General Dan Sullivan is scheduled for a later hearing. Committee chair Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat with his eye on the governor's job in the 2010 election chaired the committee, said he was astonished that incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell wouldn't have directed the state's criminal lawyers to be more aggressive in domestic violence prosecutions. "I guess I'm a little bit surprised, given the governor's focus on domestic violence and absolute connection between pet abuse and domestic violence, that he or the attorney general isn't willing to rethink their sort of historical opposition," French said. Parnell has made domestic violence and sexual assault a key issue of his first term as governor, vowing to introduce legislation and implement new policies designed to "end the scourge" within a decade. Sen. Bill Wielechowski, also an Anchorage Democrat, sponsored the animal cruelty bill and also expressed dismay that the law department wasn't prosecuting domestic violence cases to the maximum extent. He said the bill goes hand-in-hand with Parnell's platform against domestic violence, offering an opportunity to catch and punish violent offenders before they hurt more people. "If the Parnell administration is allowing criminals who inflict severe and prolonged physical pain and suffering on other humans to plead out with misdemeanors, I've got a big problem with that," Wielechowski told Carpeneti, using the language from his animal cruelty bill. "And that's something that we need to address. If you need more resources to do that, please let us know." A Senate committee took up two bills related to animal cruelty during a Friday hearing. One, sponsored by Wielechowski, would make the most violent acts against animals a felony. The proposal drew testimony from animal advocates across the state. The plan also drew support from domestic violence groups, who said pet violence is often used by domestic abusers to threaten victims into silence, or as a weapon of other sort -- leave me, and I'll kill the dog. "I've investigated cases and heard these threats in numerous investigations over the years myself," Alaska State Troopers Col. Audie Holloway said, testifying in favor of the bill. Anchorage police detective Jackie Conn said she's dealt with at least 60 cases of animal cruelty since October 2008, ranging from neglect to torture and killing. "Quite a few people don't realize how much of this goes on," she said, adding that most animal abusers have prior convictions for violent crimes against people.
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