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| Sing Sing Officer Convicted In Cat Deaths |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/20/2001 |
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A New York prison officer was convicted Tuesday of aggravated cruelty to animals for crushing five kittens to death in a compactor at Sing Sing. Ronald Hunlock, 47, could be sentenced to up to two years in prison under a new state law that makes the crime a felony. ''In the overall scheme of things in today's world, the lives of five kittens could easily be considered of slight significance by some,'' said Westchester County Court Judge Peter Leavitt, announcing his verdict after a non-jury trial. ''This court feels differently.'' Hunlock was also convicted of attempted aggravated cruelty for trying to kill the kittens' mother, who escaped from the compactor at the last moment and has since been adopted. He showed no reaction on hearing the verdict, but some relatives in the gallery shook their heads. Barbara Stagno, Northeast director of the group In Defense of Animals, said she found the decision ''very meaningful,'' especially since the judge had expressed some reservations about the new statute. ''It's about more than the five kittens,'' she said. ''It's about society's attitude toward animal cruelty.'' Hunlock found an inmate with contraband on March 11 at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining. He then searched the inmate's cell, found the six cats and ordered the inmate to put them in the compactor. When the inmate refused, Hunlock did it himself. He claimed the cats were deathly ill and the prison had no guidelines for the situation. Leavitt, in ordering a presentence investigation, suggested he might consider sentencing Hunlock to probation coupled with community service ''at an animal shelter or cleaning stables for the mounted police.'' He scheduled sentencing for March 19. Since he was charged, Hunlock has been suspended without pay by the state Department of Correctional Services. The department did not immediately return a call on Tuesday. |
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