I’d like to post some concerns I have about hate crimes and Caboodle Ranch. I’m not a professional writer, so please forgive any errors I make as I’m writing this out of concern due to the increase in hate crimes in this country. Thank you in advance for allowing me to voice my opinion.
Back in 2009, the U.S. Senate passed the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Prevention Act that would allow the death penalty as a possible sentence to certain hate crimes. As a native Washingtonian (Washington, D.C.), I had the opportunity to speak with those senators involved in passing this act.
Until the passing of this act, hate crimes were defined as crimes against not only race, color, religion and national origin, but also certain bias-motivated crimes based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. This definition has been expanded to include many additional circumstances, all circulating around hate for an individual or group.
The Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Prevention Act also gives the U.S. federal government jurisdiction over prosecuting hate crimes in areas where the current law is lax or the local police refuse to protect an individual or group.
The first conviction under this new law occurred when a federal jury convicted an Arkansas man back in May of 2011 for hate crimes committed against five Hispanic men who were verbally abused at a service station. The abuse spilled over into road rage which ended with all five of the Hispanic men being injured after being forced off of the road. Although this was a different kind of motivation, it all stems from hate.
This is the type of hate now being directed at Caboodle Ranch in Lee, Florida by people who don’t want to wait on the courts to do their job. Hate crimes, as defined by wikipedia, include lynching and witch hunts. I’ve read information from both sides of the case against Caboodle Ranch. Actions being taken by an individual or group of individuals could easily be seen as a hate crime as threats of death are involved. It’s also alleged people who wish to support the ranch and have publicly announced their support are also receiving threats.
According to the Nizkor project, one of the most common reasons people commit hate crimes is “the primal emotions aroused by the love of one’s own group. These deep feelings of group identity are particularly vivid in times of economical and political uncertainty and among people who suffered emotional neglect as children.”1
As a retired psychiatrist, I agree with the Nizkor project findings.
It may be difficult proving a hate crime has been committed unless extreme violence has taken place. It is, however, illegal in the U.S. to send threatening mail using the U.S. Postal Service. Federal Law makes it a crime to hurt someone if the threat is sent by “interstate commerce.” This includes the U.S. Postal Service, email, or otherwise over the internet2. They are punishable by fines, jail or both, depending on severity.
The U.S. Secret Service takes cyber threats seriously and acts alongside the Internet Crime Prevention Center in finding those guilty and prosecuting them.
I hope I don’t upset your readers at this fine cat site. If I do then I apologize. As a new subscriber I found it necessary to warn your readers that not everyone who loves cats love people. In fact, I find the opposite to be true in the Caboodle Ranch case. I’ve been watching the case these past few weeks and find myself sickened on some of the goings-on taking place outside of the courtroom.
Caboodle Ranch is a popular topic these days. Their Facebook page at Caboodle Ranch, Inc. as well as their opponents at Caboodle’s Angels, Caboodle Ranch Cruelty Case Info and www.caboodleranch.net have both sides of the issue covered quite well. I find myself amazed at the hate people feel for this one man. Now I’ve read Craig Grant and his supporters are receiving death threats. Our country, based on the legal belief “innocent until proven guilty” has gotten out of control, thanks to the internet.
Is this the work of only a few enraged members of one or another of these sites, or are there hundreds out there who wish him death. Never mind this is a decision for the courts to decide in a few weeks. Do those making threats against Caboodle Ranch in the form of letters and other internet activity realize they could face a fine and/or face jail time. Is this a game to them? Do these persecutors have nothing better to do with their time? I find this all very sickening to think these haters could be my friends or neighbor’s.
In this day of modern science, fingerprints as well as DNA evidence can be lifted from envelopes. IP addresses and internet sites can also easily be traced back to their creator. Those found guilty should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I believe this not as a supporter of either side, but because many tend to think of the internet as a make believe world where anything is legal. Threatening someone harm through any means is wrong and those doing it must be stopped.
I feel the Caboodle Ranch case will go down in history due to the controversy it’s created by pitting one cat lover against another. It may also become famous as those against the ranch who threaten to physically harm Craig Grant, his staff and his followers could be prosecuted under the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Especially since several hate crimes have made headlines this year.
Regardless, it’s up to the legal system to inflict punishment. Individuals on a hate mission have no right to claim they love cats. When such a group acts on their own as judge, jury and prosecutor, it shows they are of lesser intelligence than those they are out to harm. It also shows serious disrespect of our legal system, which I admit is far from perfect. We, as American citizens, have the legal obligation to allow the courts to punish those found guilty of a crime based on the decision of a judge and jury. Anything else is barbaric. And illegal.
Sincerely,
Victoria
Washington, D.C., United States
Reference:
1. (www.nizkor.org/hweb/orgs/canadian/Canada/justice/hate-motivated-violence/hmv-002-02.html).
2. http://criminal.lawyers.com/Criminal-Law-Basics/Cyber-Threats-Like-Obama-Facebook-Poll-are-Crimes.html
Yep. Over, and over, and over. I have this foolish hope that some fact or reason might actually penetrate the denial of some of these hoarder apologists, but no luck so far.
Do you ever get the feeling your REPEATING yourself John ??? AGAIN !!
I do not defend animal cruelty, but my definition of animal cruelty does not coincide with yours and I will always speak out when I believe good people are being treated unjustly. That’s all I plan to say on the matter for now. I have a life and other responsibilities to take care of. You Caboodle Ranch folks can wallow in your hatred and revel in your personal glory and your minute in the spotlight. Personally…I feel very sorry for you because you don’t know the meaning of compassion and never will.
Cruelty is cruelty. Do I care if Craig “meant well” when he allowed cats to suffer and die in agony? No. I only care that cats suffered horrifying torment because of his actions. It certainly doesn’t make a difference to the cat, does it?
Whether Craig Grant had good intentions or not is irrelevant. The court can take that into consideration when they determine the severity of his sentence.
My concern is getting cats out of the hands of people who are unfit to care for them, and seeing that those people are held accountable for the cruelty they’ve committed.
Period.
All Craig had to do to prevent this was to STOP TAKING IN MORE CATS. But he refused, because that’s what hoarders do. He ignored the veterinarians, he ignored the court, he ignored animal welfare groups, and he allowed the cats to suffer without veterinary treatment until they died.
The only thing wrong with how this was handled is that it was permitted to degenerate for three more years before law enforcement stepped up and took action. Hundreds of cats paid for that with their health and their lives.
The national groups like the ASPCA do not have the authority to unilaterally demand that Caboodle Ranch correct the problems. They can only advise and report, until their assistance is requested by law enforcement.
So, no, Carolyn, the ASPCA did not have the power to do this. Only Craig Grant had the power to do this, and he refused. So it fell to law enforcement to protect the cats from his negligence and cruelty.
It was Craig and Nanette who refused to adopt cats out.
It was Craig and Nanette who ignored court orders to care for the cats.
It was Craig and Nanette who ignored orders to stop taking in cats.
It was Craig and Nanette who withheld veterinary care from cats because “it wouldn’t work financially.”
It was Craig and Nanette who fraudulently solicited donations that were “100% for the cats”, but somehow got spent on gifts, show tickets, and local motel rooms.
It was Craig and Nanette who fraudulently claimed that all the cats were spayed and neutered.
It was Craig and Nanette who fraudulently claimed that all sick cats were receiving veterinary care.
But it’s the ASPCA’s fault that the Sheriff shut down Caboodle Ranch?
I don’t think so.
When Caboodle Ranch lost that custody hearing, the cats won. So enjoy your anti-activist ranting, your denial of the facts in the case, your blame-shifting and your feeble excuses for defending animal cruelty.
It means nothing. The animal abusers lost, and those who value the welfare of animals celebrate that.
Ahhhh…. Mam did you forget to take your meds today
There is a huge, huge difference between somebody with a kind heart that tries to save animals and gets in over their head and true animal cruelty perpetrators such as people who set dogs on fire and nail cats to trees. The judge himself I am told, told Craig Grant he believed he had a good heart and so do I. If there were issues at the ranch, somebody should have stepped in with money to fix the problems and for medical treatment, laid down the law on how many cats should be sheltered there, had a adopt-a-thon to remove the excess cats and set a supervisor over the ranch to make sure things were run by the book. The ASPCA had the power and the money to do all of this, but they chose to terrorize those cats, remove them and cage them for six months in a stuffy warehouse for an alledged 1.8 million dollars in expenses while Craig Grant faces animal cruelty charges and possible prison time. There is a whole lot wrong with how this was handled and it disgusts me to no end. I absolutely do not agree with the Caboodle Ranch hate team, their attitudes, their anger issues, their motives and their goals. Craig Grant may be convicted, the cats may be euthanized and the ranch totally closed down at the slam of a judge’s gavel…that doesn’t make all of this right, or just or humane or kind. It’s just a sad commentary on the state of our country and the world, on the activities of modern day witch hunters, and on the skilled influence of the powerful and rich animal rights radicals.