82-Year-Old Man Not Guilty of Animal Cruelty

In the case of Hume Hamilton versus the State of Florida, Mr. Hamiton was an 82-year-old man who was out walking his dog on a leash when a cat got too close to the dog. The two animals began fighting, so Mr. Hamilton tried to separate them while keeping the leash on his dog. Unfortunately, the dog killed the cat, and Mr. Hamilton ended up being charged with the crime of animal cruelty. But not only was he charged with animal cruelty, he was also eventually convicted of that crime and sentenced to three years in prison.

Hamilton appealed his case, and the court of appeals ruled that he was not guilty of animal cruelty because he did not intend for his dog to kill the cat. The court of appeals said that Hamilton would have been guilty if he had taken the leash off of his dog so that it could attack the cat.