calliecritturs
Posted : 12/11/2007 10:21:09 PM
WARNING - a bit graphic and gross.
IF you have dog friends who are also way into CSI, or IF you are heavily into rescue and working with local law enforcement, if you go to the ASPCA website and to their books section, her book is available there.
She was really interesting to listen to, altho her 'talk' was truly more geared for law enforcement/vets/shelter staff who are dealing with the trenches issue of how to convict hoarders and puppy mills and cruelty cases.
Gets DEEP into it -- far far far more scientific than you'd guess. For example -- "dating" a crime scene can get tricky (just how long DOES it take to get *** 3" deep in a crate?). There are serious 'answers' to that -- like where there are those kinds of filth (and all that goes with it) there are BUGS.
She's been successful at 'dating' crime scenes (to prove that something has been ongoing and therefore there is an element of it not just being a temporary thing but ongoing cruelty and some 'intent' as to this is how these animals were kept long term) literally by etomological evidence (bugs) -- examining the eggs/casings left by various insects and how many 'generations' of particular insects are evident is one of the big ways they 'date' a crime scene.
she wasn't able to speak about the Vick case *at all* when she was at Gainesville in August (because it was an ongoing case) but she told of several cases otherwise having to do with dogfighting -- the types of injuries, the fact that there was only particular types of food in evidence (ONLY "moldy" puppy food, or only senior food where there were only puppies being kept).
I was impressed at how practical she was -- and how much she emphasized "knowing" the local law enforcement -- no matter how difficult they may be to work with. The lady's "home base" is in the middle of Georgia, very very "small town" -- and it's made difficult by the whole "everyone's related or living with someone who is related" scenario.
BUT one example she used was when she knows a case may be tried in that county she always examines every possible thing about the dog foods in evidence because one of the local judges has a real 'hot button' about food. The judge isn't really an animal lover, however -- she takes the "food, shelter, and water" portion of the local law requirements seriously. And she once granted a conviction on a puppy miller simply because the only food available on the property at the time of seizure was moldy 'adult' dogfood, NOT puppy food. Therefore it was unfit for consumption of the few adults on premises, and NOT suitable at all for the puppies. So it was the 'opening' they needed to get violations that would stick according to local law.
One of the real frustrations is trying to get conviction on something that is FEDERAL, rather than just local law (particularly in something like the Vick case). Local law is mostly going to carry a misdemeanor and no greater penalty -- and you don't have much chance of getting any sort of real penalty (like the pretty serious jail time Vick faces) UNLESS you get into federal stuff (like racketeering, etc.)
It was quite the eye-opener for me (and I am a legal secretary) because I'd honestly never thought about it from that standpoint. As animal lovers we all have strong feelings about how heinous such crimes are, but those tend to be MORAL reactions and emotional ones, rather than nuts and bolts LEGAL issues that will stand up in court and carry a stiff penalty with them.
Interesting stuff. DIFFICULT to listen to -- I was honestly pretty shattered after listening that evening. I left and sobbed for a couple of hours simply because it left me so drained. I'm not a tv fan so I never watch any of the CSI stuff, but if you are and are into animal activism all, her books are really darned good. Used as text books in the CSI classes that are beginning to be taught at state vet schools across the US.