Indiana House members passed legislation authored by Representative Ryan Hatfield (D-Evansville) that would increase the penalties against people who commit crimes against animals.
House Bill 1615 would tighten existing animal cruelty laws to make it more difficult for people to get away with mistreating animals.
The bill would raise base penalties for crimes such as abandoning or abusing an animal from a Class A Misdemeanor to a Level 6 Felony. A Class A Misdemeanor is punishable up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000, while a Level 6 Felony includes penalties up to two and a half years of imprisonment. In extreme circumstances such as mutilating or killing an animal, the conviction would be raised from a Level 6 Felony to a Level 5 Felony, which is punishable for up to six years of imprisonment.
“Currently the worst charge someone can receive for animal cruelty is a Level 6 Felony,†Hatfield said. “This bill raises that charge to a Level 5 Felony and replaces the fixed minimum with a Level 6 Felony rather than a Class A Misdemeanor.â€
At the beginning of February, police officers found a dog frozen to death in a dumpster on the east-side of Indianapolis. Because of current state animal cruelty laws, the owner of the dog was only charged with a Misdemeanor for animal cruelty and citations for improper care, mistreatment and unlawful disposal of an animal.
“This legislation appropriately punishes animal abusers and ensured we take animal cruelty seriously,†Hatfield said.
According to the National Sheriffs Association (NSA), people who abuse animals are people who will or do abuse human beings. The NSA also estimates that animal abusers are five times more likely than non-animal abusers to commit violent crimes against people.
“FBI Profiler Robert Ressler says, ‘Murderers often start out by killing and torturing animals,’†Hatfield added. “There is a direct link between people who abuse animals and people who abuse other people. Thus, when we strengthen animal cruelty crimes to protect animals, we also protect our children.â€
House Bill 1615 now moves to the Senate for further action.
By Emily Ketterer
TheStatehouseFile.com
INDIANAPOLIS — The House Public Policy Committee withheld voting on a controversial bill that would limit second-trimester abortions after hours of heated debate that dragged into the evening Wednesday.
House Bill 1211 would make performing dismemberment abortions on a living fetus during or after the second trimester a level 5 felony, which would be punishable by up to six years in prison. The only exception is if the pregnancy poses a serious health risk to the woman that would result in “substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.â€
All other anti-abortion laws the General Assembly passed since 2013 have been blocked by federal judges.
Laws in the nine states banning the procedure are only in effect in Mississippi and West Virginia. The others are on hold because of legal challenges in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
The bill, authored by Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, graphically defines a dismemberment abortion as when a fetus is extracted from a woman “one piece at a time†by using clamps or scissors to “slice, crush or grasp†a body part.
The procedure, medically defined as a Dilation and Evacuation (D&E) procedure, is the most common method for a second trimester abortion. Still, it remains rare. This procedure made up 0.35 percent of the 7,778 abortions performed in Indiana during 2017, according to the state department of health.
“The baby is literally the second trimester? Jesus Christ,†Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, said during the hearing.
The House Public Policy Committee withheld voting on the bill after listening to more than three hours of testimony from both sides and getting into heated debate among the members Wednesday afternoon.
During the hearing, Rep. Dan Forestal, D-Indianapolis, said he was disappointed in the repeated use of the graphic language throughout.
“The comments today are very hyperbolic,†he said. “I have heard torn apart limb by limb probably 14 times.â€
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky, which opposed the bill, stated the term “dismemberment†is not medical, and lawmakers are using the word to invoke fear and stigmatize women’s healthcare. The organization believes the bill is another attempt to criminalize women’s medical decisions and undermine health professionals.
A local pediatrician, Tracey Wilkinson, was faced with the decision to have a second-trimester abortion after she found out her unborn child had possible life-threatening birth defects. This was a decision she thought she would never have to make, she said, and that choice should remain private.
“I struggled to think about how this would impact my family,†Wilkinson said. “At no point was there space for my representative to be involved with my decision.â€
Dr. Katie McHugh, an obstetrician and gynecologist (OB/GYN), said she and other physicians want to offer all options, and HB 1211 would ban the safest procedure that can be performed in the second trimester. She said the alternatives may be painful and cause complications, including terminating the fetus before a D&E, which is permitted under the bill.
“What I advocate for is for women to have a choice,†McHugh said. “By taking medical decision out of the hands of women … and instead putting them in the hands of politicians, it is extremely dangerous.â€
Indiana Right to Life and National Right to Life take the position that dismemberment the abortion is “barbaric.â€
“To think about other children … to be pulled limb for limb, it just breaks my heart,†Ryan McCann, of the Indiana Family Institute, said.
Dr.  Kathy Altman, a retired OB/GYN who previously performed dismemberment abortions, testified against the bill. She graphically described the procedures she performed, including making sure to count all the body parts she pulled out. She explained the many possible dangers and complications that come from the surgery, such as accidentally crushing the woman’s bladder or pulling a bowel out.
“It always made me a little nervous doing these,†Altman said.
The other piece of HB 1211 includes more specific lists of complications that may rise from an abortion, which Mayfield said were more vaguely defined last session.
The legislation also allows for the woman who received an abortion banned by the proposed law and experienced complications, her parents or a prosecuting attorney can petition for an injunction against a physician. The woman, the father or the parents of a female under 18 who received an abortion that caused her death, can sue a doctor for damages under the bill as well.
FOOTNOTE: Emily Ketterer is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.
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IS IT TRUE posted below are two links concerning Indiana Firebirds for your review? …the links give you an overview of the 2019 playing schedule and the team’s management, coaching staff and players roaster of the “Firebirds”?
Below are the felony cases to be filed by the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office today.
Arnador Esquvell Alonzo III: Domestic battery (Level 5 Felony)
Chassity Maria Beste: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Terrence Dwayne Hayden: Dealing in a narcotic drug (Level 5 Felony), Operating a motor vehicle after forfeiture of license for life (Level 5 Felony), Dealing in a synthetic drug or synthetic drug lookalike substance (Class A misdemeanor), Possession of marijuana (Class B misdemeanor)
Steven Michel Wiley: Battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety official (Level 5 Felony), Resisting law enforcement (Level 6 Felony), Possession of methamphetamine (Level 6 Felony), Striking a law enforcement animal (Class A misdemeanor), Possession of a synthetic drug or synthetic drug lookalike substance (Class A misdemeanor), Possession of paraphernalia (Class C misdemeanor)
Matthew David Glaser: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Kiara Jane Patterson: Criminal trespass (Level 6 Felony)
Felix R. Lewis: Dealing in a synthetic drug or synthetic drug lookalike substance (Level 6 Felony)
Michael Warner Payne: Auto theft (Level 6 Felony)
Willie Charles Steverson: Battery resulting in serious bodily injury (Level 5 Felony), Battery resulting in moderate bodily injury (Level 6 Felony)
Andrew Maurice Parson:Â Attempt Robbery (Level 5 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Joel Richard Doughty: Unlawful possession of syringe (Level 6 Felony)
Montray T. Copeland: Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony), Domestic battery (Level 6 Felony)
Samuel Drew Fisher: Residential entry (Level 6 Felony), Invasion of privacy (Level 6 Felony), Resisting law enforcement (Class A misdemeanor)
Attorney General Curtis Hill is warning Hoosiers to be skeptical of advertising mailers claiming they have won prizes – especially when “winners†must pick up prizes at car dealerships or other sales-oriented venues.
“Typically, the announcement that ‘you’re a winner’ is merely a ploy to entice you to go listen to someone’s sales pitch,†Attorney General Hill said. “We want Hoosiers to be alert to all varieties of misleading advertising so they can avoid wasting their time or, even worse, getting talked into making ill-advised purchases.â€
In the last 12 months, the Office of the Attorney General has filed lawsuits against five promotional firms in connection with deceptive auto-advertising mailers promising prize winnings. Thus far, lawsuits have resulted in judgments against two such firms; the other three are pending.
Most recently – on Feb. 10, 2019 – a Marion County court approved a consent agreement between the state and Traffic Jam Events LLC, which resolved claims by the Attorney General that the promoter violated Indiana law.
The complaint alleged the following with regard to Traffic Jam Events:
The Attorney General claimed the mailings violated the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act in multiple ways – including false representations that recipients won specific prizes and false representations that the game pieces in the mailings determined whether recipients won prizes. Further, the complaint alleged the prize mailings also violated the Promotional Gifts and Contests Act by failing to include on the prize mailings the name and address of the promoter (Traffic Jam Events); failure to correctly state the odds of winning and the retail value of the prizes potentially awarded; and failure to include a disclaimer that recipients would be subjected to a sales pitch when claiming their prizes.
The consent agreement entered between the parties and approved by the court requires Traffic Jam Events to pay the State of Indiana a civil penalty in the amount of $57,500.
Traffic Jam Events is also required to include various specific disclosures in its mailings. It is also prohibited from sending any mailings that claim recipients have won prizes when they have not; from representing game pieces as determinant as to whether recipients have won prizes; from classifying recipients as “winners†unless they have actually won a substantial prize; and from any other future violations of Indiana law.
In addition, Traffic Jam Events is required to provide the Attorney General with copies of all mailings it sends to Indiana recipients over the next three years so the Attorney General can monitor Traffic Jam Events’ compliance with the judgment.
The other four promotional firms involved with auto dealers and sued by the state within the last 12 months are:
If you believe you have been the victim of any type of scam or attempted scam, the Office of the Attorney General can help. To file a complaint, go to indianaconsumer.com or call 1-800-382-5516.
Attached are documents related to the case involving Traffic Jam Events LLC.
Ace Ace Baby Race to take place on Sunday
UE Athletics has teamed up with The Women’s Hospital to announce the first annual Ace Ace Baby Race.
A group of 15 babies will have a crawl race at halftime on Sunday, February 17 when the Purple Aces men’s basketball team faces UNI inside the Ford Center. Tip is at 3 p.m.
“We love giving back to the community and getting involved in family friendly events. When UE approached us about the idea of sponsoring a baby race during a game, we knew this would be a huge hit in the community, while also aligning with our mission and vision of serving women and their families,†Chris Ryan, CEO of The Women’s Hospital said.
The Women’s Hospital will be the game sponsor and will feature some fun giveaway items for fans as they enter the arena.
Sunday’s competition will feature 15 babies that were selected from The Women’s Hospital social media pages.
“The baby crawl was a promotion that I wanted to bring to the Aces as soon as I started. I got the idea from other Learfield IMG College properties, and it has been a lot of fun working with the marketing team at The Women’s Hospital,†Brandon McClish – GM Purple Aces Sports Properties said. “The half-time promotion will involve profiles for the contestants, officials, and our on-court emcee calling the action.â€
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed a first-time Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National FFA Organization to advance educational outreach for EPA’s ongoing environmental and public health initiatives.
“Today’s MOU will expand EPA’s environmental education programs to an important and diverse new audience: the National FFA Organization’s 670,000 student members,†said EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “The MOU reflects the importance of agricultural practices in promoting environmental stewardship and builds on our recent collaborations with America’s farmers and ranchers.â€
“This agreement between FFA and EPA recognizes how FFA members are ready to be leaders in environmental fields,” said National FFA President Luke O’Leary.“Whether it’s studying pH levels in soil or running experiments to reduce water runoff, we’re active stewards in preserving and enhancing the resources needed to grow our food.”
EPA will continue to work with FFA to ensure environmental education is learned and practiced by all Americans to achieve EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.
