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Tuesday, May 3, 2011


Bill Passes House: Life in a Texas Jail if Your Dog Kills a Child or Senior Citizen

But, But, But...
Austin, TX - Some months ago, state Rep. Chuck Hopson drafted HB 1389 that increases criminal penalties for dog owners -- from second degree to first degree -- if their dog kills a person under the age of 18 or over the age of 65 and falls under 822.005 (Lillian's Law, which only affects "loose dog" attacks). The bill recently passed the House in a 123-7 vote and is headed to the Senate. The bill in part came in response to the 2009 death of Justin Clinton.

We have highlighted the area that shows Hopson's addition. It is important to point out that neither Lillian's Law nor Hopson's increased penalties to it eliminate the "one bite free" rule, which governs the State of Texas. Unpredictable, violent attacks by pit bulls and rottweilers without a history of prior aggression (as is often the case) are unaffected by these laws as well as on-property attacks (as is often the case), such as when a child visits a relative's home.
SECTION 5. Section 822.005, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 822.005. ATTACK BY DOG.
(a) A person commits an offense if the person is the owner of a dog and the person:
(1) with criminal negligence fails to secure the dog and the dog makes an unprovoked attack on another person that occurs at a location other than the owner's property and that causes serious bodily injury or death to the other person; or
(2) knows the dog is a dangerous dog and the dangerous dog makes an unprovoked attack on another person that occurs at a location other than a secure enclosure in which the dog is restrained in accordance with Subchapter D and that causes serious bodily injury or death to the other person.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), an [An] offense under this section is a felony of the third degree [unless the attack causes death, in which event the offense is a felony of the second degree].
(b-1) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree if the attack causes death, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if the attack causes death to a person:
(1) younger than 18 years of age; or
(2) 65 years of age or older.
(c) If a person is found guilty of an offense under this section, the court may order the dog destroyed by a person listed in Section 822.004.
(d) For purposes of this section, an owner knows a dog is a dangerous dog when the owner learns as described by Section 822.042(g) the owner is the owner of a dangerous dog.
(e) A person who is subject to prosecution under this section and another law may be prosecuted under either or both this section and the other law.
Lillian's Law already provides a 20-year penalty of imprisonment when a "loose" dog mauls an innocent person to death and its owner knew the animal was dangerous (a known history of aggression). In 2008, Jack Smith and Crystal Watson, the owners of the pit bulls that killed 7-year old Tanner Monk, were the first to be prosecuted under Lillian's Law and the jury chose a 7-year sentence for each. The 11th Court of Appeals recently upheld their conviction.

Related articles:
06/23/09: Texans Killed by Pit Bulls in 3.5 Year Period (2006-2009)
10/08/08: Fatal Dog Mauling Trial of Tanner Joshua Monk, 7 Years Old
08/20/08: Dog Attacks, Trends and Dog Law Coverage of Texas
01/09/08: Lillian's Law - Texas State Dangerous Dog Law

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7 comments:

Blogger vintage  |  5/05/2011 4:52 AM  |  Flag  
Wow...The Texas Legislature got Pit BS-ed again!

Considering nearly 40 percent of Pit DBRF victims are adults(a reality not seen with other breeds), this idiotic law actually excludes a good portion of mankilling Pit owners from the higher standard....It's Reverse BSL!

Meanwhile, there have been 72 Pit DBRFs in California and Texas....with zero self regulation by Pit Breeders.

PREVENT THE DEED, REGULATE THE BREED.

Blogger daniella  |  5/06/2011 12:14 AM  |  Flag  
This is not enough. Pit bull owners know that their breed has been selectively bred for no other purpose than to kill, maim, and murder innocent individuals. Despite that, these reckless owners still proclaim that their dog is the exception to that breeding standard. This is an illogical argument.

The fact is ALL pit bulls are dangerous because they were bred to be. This is not imaginative political spin. It is fact. Pit bulls were bred to kill. The history of aggression is, in fact, the history of the breed. The one-bite free rule carves out a dangerous exception for violent beasts and their owners. What legislators need to understand is that pit bulls kill indiscriminately. There is no method to the madness - there is simply madness and more fatalities.

Blogger vintage  |  5/06/2011 3:03 AM  |  Flag  
Pits are equal opportunity maulers...7 reasons why this is a bad idea!:

Pamela Rushing - Killed by Pit Bull-Mix
Friendswood, Galveston County
March 16, 2007
50-Years Old

David "Ted" McCurry - Killed by Pit Bull
Willis, Montgomery County
October 29, 2006
41-Years Old

Frank Campbell Baber - Killed by Pit Bulls
Spur, Dickens County
August 29, 2006
49-Years Old

Fannie Pharms - Killed by Two Pit Bulls and Rottweiler
Houston, Harris County
November 2003
57-Years Old

Dorothy Carter - Killed by Her Pet Pit Bull
Splendora, Montgomery County
July 2002
52-Years Old

Aurora Gonzales - Killed by Two Pit Bulls
Lubbock, Lubbock County
October 1997
64-Years Old


Sandra Sanchez-Killed by Landlords Rottweilers
32 years old/Harris County TX
March 15, 2005

PREVENT THE DEED....

Blogger craven desires  |  5/06/2011 8:11 PM  |  Flag  
agreed vintage! in fact, i would argue that dogs that kill able bodied middle aged adults are far more dangerous.

the nutters are already whining about this targeting pit bulls.

Blogger vintage  |  5/10/2011 2:03 AM  |  Flag  
46 REASONS WHY THIS LAW IS AN ASS:

April 2011, Sierra County, NM
Margaret Salcedo, 48
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

April 2011, Carter County, OK
Virgil Cantrell, 50
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

March 2011, San Bernardino County, CA
Jennie Erquiaga, 47
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

January 2011, Pontotoc County, MS
Ronnie Waldo, 51
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

January 2011, Colusa County, CA
Linda Leal, 51
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

November 2010, Dillon County, SC
Justin Lane, 25
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

November 2010, Riverside County, CA
Christina Casey, 53
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

August 2010, Bibb County, GA
Tracey Payne, 46
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

June 2010, Lorain County, OH
Michael Winters, 30
Fatal pack attack involving pit bulls

February 2010, Philadelphia County, PA
Christine Staab, 37
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

January 2010, Cook County, IL
Johnny Wilson, 56
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

August 2009, Loudoun County, VA
Carter Delaney, 20
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

December 2008, Riverside County, CA
Gerald Adelmund, 60
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

October 2008, Delaware County, IN
Chester R. Jordan, 62
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

August 2008, Wayne County, MI
Robert Howard, 38
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

January 2008, Beauregard County, LA
Kelli Chapman, 24
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

December 2007, San Bernardino County, CA
Kelly Caldwell, 45
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

December 2007, Placer County, CA
Cora Lee Suehead, 61
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

November 2007, Knox County, TN
Jennifer Lowe, 21
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

October 2007, Clay County, FL
Tina Marie Canterbury, 42
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls


June 2007, Volusia County, FL
Mary Diana Bernal, 62
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

May 2007, Shelby County, TN
James Chapple Jr., 59
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

November 2006, Russell County, AL
Richard Adams, 47
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

October 2006, Montgomery County, TX
David "Ted" McCurry, 41
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

October 2006, Rockland County, NY
Jeannine Fusco, 44
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

August 2006, Dickens County, TX
Frank Campell Baber, 49
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

July 2006, Monongalia County, WV
Brandon Coleman, 25
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

June 2006, San Bernardino County, CA
Shawn Lee McCafferty, 27
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

May 2006, Rio Arriba County, NM
Juan Francisco Garcia, 53
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

April 2006, Los Angeles County, CA
John Doe, 25
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

March 2006, Davie County, NC
Charles Dalton, 52
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

November 2005, Bexar County, TX
Roberto Aguilera, 64
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

November 2005, Jefferson County, KY
Hulon Barbour, 60
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

May 2005, St. Louis, MO
Lorinze Reddings, 42
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

November 2003, Elbert County, CO
Jennifer Brooke, 40
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

November 2003, Harris County, TX
Fannie Pearl Pharms, 58
Fatal dog attack involving pit bulls

January 2003, Cook County, IL
Anna Cieslewicz, 48
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

January 2003, Gwinnett County, GA
Flora Lubin, 52
Fatal dog attack: pit bull

July 2002, Harris County, TX
Dorothy Carter, 52
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

October 2001, Pope County, AR
Carolyn Shatswell, 50
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

July 2001, Maricopa County, AZ
Alexandro Caballero Mendoza, 50
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

December 2000, Pima County, AZ
Louis Tenorio, 59
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

December 1999, Fairfield County, SC
John Mickle, 46
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

November 1999, Pima County, AZ
Joan Encinas, 42
Fatal dog attack: pit bulls

Blogger vintage  |  5/12/2011 5:12 AM  |  Flag  
Texas Legislators need to drop the illogical age exclusion provision on this Bill.

Pit Bull breeding is getting worse as the trend shows that over the past three decades they are producing a better "equal opportunity" killer:


1980-1989 12 percent of Pit DBRF victims were 18-64 years old

1990-1999 20 percent of Pit DBRFs victims were 18-64 Years old

2000-2009 23 Percent of Pit DBRF victims were 18-64 Years old

2010 to Present roughly 35 Percent of Pit DBRF victims are 18-64 years old

By comparison, of 87 documented Rottenmauler DBRFs only 4 are in the exclusion zone...less than 5 percent.

Why are owners of dogs most likely to kill in the 18-64 age groups being afforded special reduced sentencing guidelines?!? This is equivalent to passing a Law where drunk Drivers receive reduced Speeding Fines.

Even better, in lieu of the Pit Bull Breeders actually regulating themselves, how about passing a Law that actually prevents these incidents?!?

Blogger Jaloney  |  8/19/2011 10:09 PM  |  Flag  
This law will not save many as so many maulings are FIRST TIME offenders. The other problem is of course.. what about the people who loose arms and legs and faces? They don't count? And what about people who fall in the middle age groups? Teens, moms and dads, people in their prime of life? It is okay for pitbulls to kill them? Idiotic law doesn't do nearly enough and actually seems to CONDONE some of the killings and maulings as acceptable!

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