S.C Court case

[Jodi]

News articles:
www.heraldonline.com/local/story/5143478p-4679468c.html

www.onlinechester.com/articles/2005/08/31/headlines/news2.txt

[Jodi]

Arthur Parker hugs his attorney Michael Hemlepp after he and Mary Evans Luther, also shown, were acquitted of four charges and found guilty only of a reduced drug charge.

Jury acquits

By Stephen Guilfoyle / News Editor

Arthur Parker hugs his attorney Michael Hemlepp after he and Mary Evans Luther, also shown, were acquitted of four charges and found guilty only of a reduced drug charge.

Arthur Parker and Mary Evans Luther of 1555 Mount Vernon Road, Fort Lawn, were acquitted of four of five charges by a Chester County jury Thursday.

The two had been charged with animal fighting, ill treatment of an animal, possession of a dangerous animal, conspiracy and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

They were acquitted on the first four charges, and found guilty of the lesser included charge of simple possession of marijuana on the fifth.

Judge Kenny Goode fined the couple $100 each and ordered that the dogs seized when they were arrested Dec. 17 be returned to them in 14 days.

Law enforcement seized 95 dogs and about 15 hogs.

The dogs were held in several states since they were seized.

One has apparently died in custody, while another had puppies, according to sources, so the exact number of dogs returned is not known.

Parker thanked his lawyer, Michael Hemlepp, and said they would talk next week.

Hemlepp said he is going to be looking into several different kinds of civil action as a result. During closing arguments, he said his clients were persecuted by the state.

He said he would want to look into a declaratory judgment suit to get a judge to define areas of the animal fighting statute that were not clear. He also said he was considering lawsuits on behalf of Parker and Luther against the Humane Society of the United States, law enforcement and perhaps media outlets for their coverage. He wouldn't specify what media.

"I'm glad it turned out the way it was supposed to," Parker said after the jury verdict.

Parker's son Arthur Parker Jr. also faces the same charges as his father, but his trial has been put off pending an evaluation requested by Public Defender Yale Zamore.

Former Chester County Animal Control Director Vicky Stultz Land is charged with misconduct in office and attending an animal fight in the case. She also has not come to trial.

A fifth man, Gene Guffey of Virginia, was arrested in the case but has yet to be indicted by the Chester County grand jury.

Prosecutor WIlliam Frick said the system worked the way it is supposed to. The state presented its case to the jury and it decided.

He said the facts of the other cases will be similar, so he will have to consult with the Attorney General's Office before it makes a decision about what to do with the charges against Parker Jr., Land and Guffey.

www.onlinechester.com/articles/2005/10/13/headlines/news0.txt

[abndogo]

WOO HOO!!!! Big congrats Mary and Art!!!!!!

This one is for you, Gary!

[Jodi]

I agree!

[Jodi]

More articles oertaining to the S.C case:

www.onlinechester.com/articles/2005/10/26/viewpoints/edit1.txt

OUR VIEW: Dinner or a pet? Cruelty or a sport?

We're not going to second-guess what happened in the hog-dogging case. The prosecution and defense presented their arguments; the jury listened and then ruled on the evidence.

That's the way it's supposed to work.

What does have us confused, though, is that there appears to be little agreement on what constitutes abuse of animals.

Since the Chester jurors found the pair accused of abuse in the “hog-dog” trial to be not guilty, these things have happened in South Carolina:

n A Johns Island resident was charged with 26 counts of improper care of animals when authorities seized two dozen dogs - “some with gashes and cuts on their faces,” according to The Associated Press - and confiscated a treadmill and videotapes of dog fights.

n A Socastee woman was arrested for ill treatment of animals after two huskies, a rottweiler and a cockatiel were removed from her home after neighbors complained of “strange noises and odors.”

n A Charleston pet-care store owner was charged with criminal animal neglect and improper care after allegedly abandoning a customer's two dogs when they were left caged overnight in her otherwise empty store.

Just what is animal abuse? That's a tough question to answer.

We're a society that coddles our dogs and cats, then says it's OK to go shoot a deer or squirrel.

We show our youngsters cartoons filled with animals displaying human-like characteristics, then serve duck and rabbit at special meals.

We call chasing foxes with hounds upper-crust and chasing hogs with pitbulls barbaric.

We grow some farm animals specifically for clothing and food - cows and pigs, for instance, but not others, such as horses. Yet, we shoot horses when they can no longer run a race.

How do we get agreement on such a personal issue as caring for what might be one person's pet and another's dinner?

The state attorney general says what the Fort Lawn pair did was cruel and illegal. And a state senator says he's going to introduce a bill to make sure it's counted as a crime.

A local legislator says that's hogwash, they did nothing wrong. And a jury says it didn't see proof of a crime presented in the courtroom.

Just what is animal abuse? That's a tough question to answer. But it's one the legislature needs to answer soon if we're going to be charging people with crimes.

[James Curry]

Defendant says state refuses to return property
Intent of court order after couple's acquittal at issue


By Denyse C. Middleton The Herald
FORT LAWN -- The state violated a court order when it did not return the property of a local couple acquitted of illegal animal fighting last month, the couple's attorney says.
Arthur Parker Sr. and Mary Luther were found not guilty of illegal animal fighting and several other charges Oct. 13. A judge ordered state officials to return the couple's personal property within 14 days.

Parker has had most of his dogs returned, he said. State Law Enforcement Division officials raided the couple's property in December and seized 95 dogs and 15 hogs.

But he's still missing legal documents belonging to him, Luther and other members of their household.

"Every time we called the attorney general or the governor's office they passed the buck," Parker said. "I called SLED agent Jack Rushing, and he said everything was all boxed up. But the attorney general's office said not to return it."

State officials are in direct violation of Judge Kenneth Goode's court order, said Parker's attorney, Mike Hemlepp.

"The judge didn't do a written order. His order was from the bench," Hemlepp said. "This is just another example of my clients being ignored by the state of South Carolina."

Attorney general spokesman Mark Plowden disagreed.

"Judge Goode's order was not a written one, but was given on the record. In it, he ordered the return of the dogs seized in the case only. This office has worked to facilitate that return," Plowden said. "Any and all other evidence in the case was not covered by that order and remains in the possession of the office. That material, seized under search warrant, may be used in future prosecutions of existing and additional defendants."

Parker, 47, and his live-in companion, Luther, 51, faced criminal charges for their alleged involvement in illegal animal fights called hog dogging, which pit bulldogs against wild hogs.

Hemlepp said he is considering legal action for a variety of reasons.

Many of the dogs that were returned to Parker are in poor condition, he said. Some have scars from kennel fights, some of the dogs' toenails had not been trimmed, making it difficult for the dogs to walk. Other dogs have worms and one male dog was neutered, ending a strong breed line of hunting dogs, Parker said.

Denyse C. Middleton • 329-4069

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