Q&A on the News
Q: Regarding the man who smashed his dog’s head with a sledgehammer, what was the reasoning behind DeKalb Superior Court Judge Cynthia J. Becker's decision to reduce this man's felony conviction to a misdemeanor?
-- Joni Zboreak, Kennesaw
A: Joe Waters was charged with two counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty and one count of attempted felony aggravated animal cruelty. In Georgia, to prove someone guilty of felony aggravated animal cruelty, or the attempt to commit such a crime, the prosecution must prove the defendant acted not just with intent but with malice. If the prosecution proves the crime was intentional but not malicious, the appropriate charge is misdemeanor animal cruelty. After the trial, the jury acquitted Waters of two counts of felony aggravated animal cruelty but convicted him of two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and one count of attempted felony animal cruelty. These verdicts were inconsistent, because the prosecution's evidence could not simultaneously prove malice (for the attempted felony charge) and fail to prove malice (for the animal cruelty charge). Becker reasoned the jury was not told that the attempt charge required malice, because the prosecution improperly omitted the malice element in the charging document. Had the jury not been misled, she concluded, it would have convicted the defendant of the misdemeanor (not the felony) attempt charge, because its verdict on the animal cruelty charges demonstrated that it found the prosecution's evidence of malice insufficient. In early March, when Becker sentenced Waters to up to a year behind bars, she reduced the attempted felony offense to an attempted misdemeanor offense, bringing it into alignment with the other misdemeanor animal cruelty charges on which Waters had been convicted.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
