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17 thoughts on “Criminal Trial: Babysitter Jena Wright Found Guilty After Her Pit Bull Brutally Killed a Little Girl While Under her Care

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  1. Heart wrenching. I hope the babysitter gets the max in jail. A message NEEDS to be sent to people who will continue to put children in danger with their fighting breeds of dogs. Perhaps the fear of serious jail time will make parents and caretakers think twice about having a pit bull around children. Obviously the fear of a child dying is not enough to deter these pit nuts.

  2. Pit bull apologists and advocates, a lobby of which "expert" Berman has been a part of and repeated propaganda from, has long dreclared that it is the owners that make pit bulls vicious.

    So will Berman hold true to the dogma of the pit bull lobby? Or will he try to declare that no one is guilty but the victim and adopt the postion of the father?

  3. It is unknown what Berman will say, but he will certainly defend the babysitter. Probably along the lines that Wright "had no idea the dog would attack" and/or that "just because it attacked another dog" does not mean Wright should have known that it would attack a human. I hope prosecutors rip through his credentials in cross-examination. Also, notably, doctors have already testified that the dog attacked her from behind. So even "hinting" at the idea that Jordyn could have provoked this attack is only going to horrify the jury, calling foul on defense.

    Also, I think the pit bull actually was her "husband's" dog — the guy that blamed the child is her husband's father who apparently also lived at the home. (https://cravendesires.blogspot.com/2013/04/resident-dog-vs-family-dog-what-is.html) I don't know if Jena and Wes are still married anymore. They recently had a domestic abuse issue with Jena being the perpetrator, but those charges were dropped. There is always the possibility that defense could claim her husband (or ex-husband now) made the dog mean and Jena was unaware of it.

    August 2014: The district court dismissed an unrelated domestic assault charge Aug. 21 for a March 15 fight with her husband. Wright pleaded guilty to charges of interference with officials acts and obstruction of emergency communications in that case. During an alleged verbal fight, Wright reportedly grabbed her husband in an attempt to keep him from leaving their Prairie City home.
    http://www.newtondailynews.com/2014/08/25/trial-date-reset-in-dog-mauling-death-case/ahwt3br/

    Some tidbits on Berman below.

    2010 — Ron Berman, a veteran animal trainer in Manhattan Beach and an expert witness in dog litigation, blames much of the problem on owners who would rather cuddle with their pets than do the hard work of training and controlling them–"grandparent syndrome," he calls it. "So we have dogs with no sense of limits or boundaries."
    https://dogbitelaw.com/press/los-angeles-times-profile-of-kenneth-phillips

    2014 — Berman said if Gus or Shane were involved in the attack, their behavior escalated to a level they hadn't reached before. In prior incidents, Gus may have chased others, but he didn't apparently jump over a fence or leap onto a platform where people were. A possible trigger for Gus could have been the stick Lorusso used…
    http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20140508/co-defendant-takes-stand-in-2012-dog-attack-trial

    The defense attorney said jurors would have to rely on experts to define dangerousness. Dog expert Ron Berman testified for the defense that a dog would have to engage in an unprovoked biting or attack, but that wasn't done before the attack.
    http://www.orovillemr.com/general-news/20140512/jury-begins-deliberations-in-2012-palermo-dog-attack-trial

  4. Berman is a fraud. Any dog that attacks other dogs is showing it'll attack species that are social partners — ie, that social bonds and rules won't keep it from trying to kill.

    Secondly, any dog that seriously wounds another dog in an altercation is showing that it lacks reflexive bite inhibition. This means it will not be able to inhibit its bite in a conflict or altercation with a human either. But never mind conflict — such a dog won't reflexively inhibit its bite if you step on its toe, and it lashes out in a pain reflex not with intent to do harm. Even if the dog isn't a pit type, and even if the dog doesn't mean to bite too hard, the dog that lacks reflexive bite inhibition remains too dangerous to keep.

    Aside from the flabbergasting and IMO unethical willingness to testify about a dog he never evaluated, Berman is showing complete ignorance about normal vs abnormal behavior in the domestic dog. Berman is also showing ignorance about what the warning signs are in any dog that it's not safe to have it among us. Signalled willingness to maul or kill is not the only thing that makes a dog unsafe.

    Given his clear lack of real knowledge, I'm surprised Berman didn't say 'pit bulls are nanny dogs, it's never reproachable to leave them alone with children'.

    I'm furiously hoping the jury sees through him.

  5. The testimony of the neighbors is damning enough that this dog was NOT safe with people, and that it kept getting out proves the owner was NOT responsible with a dog of this type. Unless there are pit bull owners on the jury, I'd say Wright is doing some jail time.

  6. I truly hope they lock this vile woman up for the rest of her dog worshiping life. She knew damn well the dog was vicious… she'd been projecting aggression with it for a LONG time.

  7. My disgust for Ron Berman is unbounded.

    He needs to hang up a new shingle- "I lie for the pit bull industry."

  8. "Cockerham also testified that Wright hatched a plan to get rid of Brutus by taking the pit bull out to the country while her husband was gone — Wright never followed through. "

    A glimpse into why so many pit bulls are picked up off the streets by animal control and the rescue dealers, why there are so many stray pit bulls.

    Too many breeders, certainly, but also pit bulls don't work out as pets. They are fighting breeds.

    They are aggressive, have attacked or bitten or killed already. Pit bulls have problems in normal society.

    These dogs do not belong in other homes.

    There is no fixing these problems, no matter what scammer dog trainers tell people.
    The pit bulls up for "adoption" and rehoming are already a problem!

    "Cockerham also testified that Wright hatched a plan to get rid of Brutus by taking the pit bull out to the country while her husband was gone — Wright never followed through. "

    A glimpse into why so many pit bulls are picked up off the streets by animal control and the rescue dealers, why there are so many stray pit bulls.

    Too many breeders, certainly, but also pit bulls don't work out as pets. They are fighting breeds.

    They are aggressive, have attacked or bitten or killed already. Pit bulls have problems in normal society.

    These dogs do not belong in other homes.

    THESE DOGS ARE ABANDONED BECAUSE THEY HAVE PROBLEMS.

    There is no fixing these problems, no matter what greedy scammer dog trainers tell people.

    The pit bulls up for "adoption" and rehoming are already a problem!

    If pit bulls were great pets like the pit bull industry is trying to sell us, there wouldn't be such an overwhelming number of abandoned pit bulls!

  9. I am truly happy and glad this foul woman will spend the next third of a century behind bars. Hopefully, this will set a legal precedent AND send a message to the rest of the pit nuts and dog worshipers that their neighborhood reigns of terror are coming to an end! Owning a dog no longer gets you a get out of jail free card!

  10. Good – if it is all about the owner, then the owner should be accountable for any actions the animal takes. This may give pause to potential owners, too – if you could possibly go to jail for your precious pibble, you might think twice before adopting one…

  11. Murder charges should be automatic anytime someone is incompetent enough to let their dog kill someone. I see this as no different that the reckless indifference shown by drunk drivers that plow into a family. They don't get off with a slap on the wrist and neither should people who CHOOSE to own known dangerous breed/fighting BREED dogs.

  12. I hate to rejoice in the misfortune of others, but GOOD. I'm glad Jena will be spending a decent amount of time in prison for the crime of being a piece of crap, worthless human. That is the main point to me, she knew she had a pit bull (already more risky than a normal dog), in addition she knew that it was a dangerous one (demonstrated prior behavior) and she then failed to take the precautions necessary to keep a child entrusted to her care from harm by that dangerous animal. Her refusal to consider the outcome of her actions cost a sweet child her young life and she should absolutely pay for her selfishness. I'm glad Jordyn's family have achieved some modicum of justice against this bunch of sociopaths (the entire Wright family). Kudos to the prosecutor for pursuing this case so thoroughly. The more people held responsible for the effect their poor choice has on the rest of us, the better.

  13. I am glad she is convicted but holding the happy dance until sentencing. Could be probation, or 3 months. Almost no one gets maxmimum sentencing. The two Arkansas mastiff owners who let the victim die in a ditch while they showered off the blood and put on make-up only got 3-6 months.

  14. The tide is turning in our direction. And soon it will be a tsunami!

  15. My understanding (which is limited) is that the judge takes everything into consideration, including her family, child and so forth when determining sentencing. Of course the prosecutor and her attorney will also have strong recommendations for the judge. Jena already had a child neglect and abandonment charge laid against her in 2011 (during the drug raid). All three in the household did. That charge was later dropped and each received a misdemeanor possession charge. Child protection did take her child away from her at that time, but I don't know for how long. The point is, Jena is not a first time offender. She won't get "first time offender" status. She will have to do several years at least. The question is, what will happen to her daughter? Will she go to Wes?? Seriously? He's been a felon for years.

    It’s easy to search Iowa criminal/civil records online.
    https://www.iowacourts.state.ia.us/ESAWebApp/DefaultFrame

    "Wright was arrested in April 2011 after police and drug task force agents found three marijuana plants growing in an unlocked basement at the same Marshall Street house where Jordyn Arndt was bit, said Prairie City Police Chief Louis Modlin. Her husband Harmon Wesley Wright III was also arrested and their then 2-year-old child was taken into protective custody, Modlin said. Jena Wright pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and a year ago Tuesday was sentenced to two days in jail, court records show."

    http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2013/04/23/dog-bite-sends-girl-4-to-hospital

    In the Arkansas case, as horrific as it was, the jury did not convict on the higher charge of felony manslaughter. The jury only convicted on the "misdemeanor" charge of negligent homicide. That is why the sentences were such a joke.

    https://blog.dogsbite.org/2014/10/criminal-trial-mother-and-daughter-arkansas-fatal-dog-attack.html

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