Sentence For Punching Dog Vs. Sentence For Fatal Punch
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Why would a man who punched and knocked out a dog’s tooth have to spend more time in jail than a man whose punch was responsible for another person’s death?
In two separate court rooms Monday, two men were sentenced.
Brent Goode punched a man in the head outside a Columbus bar. The man fell down and died and Goode will have to spend another 31 days in jail after spending 29 days already—for a total of 60 days behind bars.
In another courtroom, in Delaware County, Jeffrey Metz was sentenced for punching a deputy’s K-9 dog.
The dog lost a tooth and Metz was sentenced to 180 days in jail—three times the amount of Goode’s sentence.
Is a dog’s tooth worth more than a man’s life?
“One of the things that we have to concede is that we sometimes have schizophrenia in our sentencing policies,“ said Dan Kobil, a Capital University law professor.
Kobil said a lot more goes into sentencing than just the crime, including intent and criminal record. Plus, the quality of the defendant’s attorney is also a factor.
“It’s not surprising that the dumbest criminals in the chain are going to have the poorest outcomes,“ Kobil said.
Something else to keep in mind: What was the situation?
Was the outcome of the crime not what the guilty person intended and could it happen to a normal person in a normal situation?
“If you have somebody who has just reacted in a jostling situation at a bar, thrown a punch and then been horrified by the outcome, that’s certainly far less culpable than someone in a calculated way tries to injure another person, or a dog,“ Kobil said.
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Reader Reactions
I agree with Mickey4. The media is misreporting the K-9 story to cause more of a story than there is. FAST FACTS my ***.
“The dog should have understood the risks before he accepted the job.“ Ha.
And as for this…
“If you have somebody who has just reacted in a jostling situation at a bar, thrown a punch and then been horrified by the outcome, that’s certainly far less culpable than someone in a calculated way tries to injure another person, or a dog,“ Kobil said.
So you’re going to go ahead and say that its okay that, even though this man threw a punch in a malicious manner because it was a BAR FIGHT, and oops the man accidentally died, that since he didn’t intend for the man to die that he should get off easier? It was a bar fight! He punched the man with an intent to do harm. I’m going to go ahead and say it could also be considered trying to injure someone else in a “calculated way.“ Even though he wasn’t aware his punch would be fatal, he still went into the fight knowing that he could do severe harm to this guy. I can’t really see how its any different…
Lassie or RinTinTIn would be understandable. Expense plastic surgery to get the canines back in front of the camera. But a police dog? The dog should have understood the risks before he accepted the job.
I think it’s becoming increasingly clear that animals are more important than humans. Whether the man who killed a man with one blow meant to do it or not, the man still is dead. It must pain the family of the deceased to realize that these judges place more value on the life of a dog than a human. How odd
Ok Dan Kobil of Capital University….........You acknowledge that a problem exist, so youre teaching all our young lawyers and future judges…....... What is the solution? or do we simply turn a blind eye to the problem?
Here was your quote Dan:
“One of the things that we have to concede is that we sometimes have schizophrenia in our sentencing policies,“ said Dan Kobil, a Capital University law professor.
It gets even worse. Municipal Court Judge Harland Hale gave fireman David Santuomo 90 days in jail plus a $150 fine plus 200 hours of community service plus five years probation plus restitution of $4,500 for killing two dogs. Last fall the same Judge Hale gave truck driver George Watkins a sentence of only 6 days in jail (on weekends at his convenience) and a fine of $100 plus five years probation plus five years drivers license suspension (and 6 points) for running over and killing a school crossing guard in a marked crosswalk in a school safety zone.
Life is cheap in Columbus Ohio. 60 days. I cannot imagine the grief and the anger that the victims family must be feeling.
“In another courtroom, in Delaware County, Jeffrey Metz was sentenced for punching a deputy’s K-9 dog. “
No, he was found guilty of TWO FELONIES. Assaulting the police dog was the lessor of the two. Why does the media continue to misreport this? Is it because the headline sounds better?
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