XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: glin@intel.com   
      
   A jury on Friday found a man guilty of murder after his pit   
   bulls mauled a woman to death in a high desert town in   
   California where residents said they carried rocks and guns for   
   protection against packs of dogs.   
      
   Alex Donald Jackson, 31, was convicted of second-degree murder   
   and could get 24 years to life in prison at his sentencing   
   scheduled for October 3.   
      
   Jackson owned four pit bulls that mauled 63-year-old Pamela   
   Devitt during her morning walk in Littlerock on May 9, 2013.   
      
   Devitt died from blood loss after being bitten 200 times, the   
   coroner's office said. Gashes in her flesh were so deep that   
   bone was exposed.   
      
   Prosecutors argued that Jackson was not just negligent but also   
   knew that his animals could endanger someone's life. They   
   presented evidence that the dogs were involved in at least seven   
   other altercations in the 18 months before the fatal attack.   
      
   In Littlerock, an Antelope Valley town of about 1,400 people,   
   residents told the Los Angeles Times that they were often   
   cornered by packs of dogs. Some have forbid their children from   
   playing outside and have taken to carrying sticks, rocks and   
   guns for protection.   
      
   Vincent Jackson said his brother Alex has accepted some   
   responsibility in the case and wrote a letter to the victim's   
   husband that was never sent. Still, Vincent Jackson thinks the   
   murder charge is a knee-jerk reaction to the community's disdain   
   for pit bulls.   
      
   'It feels like they're trying to make an example of him,'   
   Vincent Jackson said about his brother.   
      
   Defense attorney Al Kim echoed that sentiment, saying his client   
   was taking the brunt of the rural area's growing frustration   
   over abandoned animals.   
      
   'At some point, something needs to be done about these stray   
   dogs, and I think an unfair amount of responsibility is being   
   directed at my client,' Kim said before the verdict was   
   returned. 'Does that mean he's a murderer? Absolutely not.'   
      
   The National Canine Research Council estimates about 30 people   
   are killed by dogs each year. Murder charges are rare because   
   prosecutors must prove that the defendant knew the dogs were   
   dangerous before the killing.   
      
   In trial testimony, several horseback riders said they had been   
   chased or bitten by Alex Jackson's dogs. Neighbors said the dogs   
   jumped over a fence and made it difficult to retrieve mail.   
      
   A mail carrier testified that he was unable to make a delivery   
   to Alex Jackson's residence because of a threatening dog that   
   eventually chased his vehicle for half a mile.   
      
   Jackson testified that he was unaware of most of the incidents.   
   He said he would have gotten rid of the dogs if he thought they   
   were capable of killing someone.   
      
   At the time of his arrest, Jackson had eight dogs living at the   
   home he shared with his mother. He had placed the four involved   
   in the attack in his garage.   
      
   'I feel terrible about it. This isn't anything that I   
   orchestrated or planned, that I wanted to have happen,' he said.   
      
   Animal control officers testified that an inebriated Jackson   
   told them shortly after the attack: 'If you mess with me, you're   
   coming into the lions' den.'   
      
   The victim's husband, Ben Devitt, said he wanted a guilty   
   verdict to set a precedent and make people aware that their dogs   
   can create a dangerous situation.   
      
   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2738221/Man-guilty-   
   murder-dogs-kill-woman.html   
      
        
      
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