District Attorney Craig Ladd prosecuted Jaquez Law, who “willfully and cruelly” killed at least four kittens by bashing their heads in. He was charged with animal cruelty, and pled guilty on October 13; he will be imprisoned for 12 years and is ordered to pay $1,151.
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We are absolutely thrilled to report on the relatively rare strong
sentencing of an Oklahoma man who was charged with animal cruelty
for killing multiple kittens following other felony convictions.
District Attorney Craig Ladd prosecuted Jaquez Law, who “willfully
and cruelly” killed at least four kittens by bashing their heads in.
He was charged with animal cruelty, and pled guilty on October 13;
he will be imprisoned for 12 years and is ordered to pay $1,151.
Thanks to In Defense of Animals supporters, we were able to send
Ladd a letter with more than 13,000 signatures attached thanking him
for taking this case seriously and asking him to present it to Judge
Dennis Morris during the sentencing phase of Law’s trial.
The background of this case is that on March 8, 2023, Tiffany
Goodrich called the Ardmore Police Department in Oklahoma to report
finding two of her beloved cats dead on her porch. She believed she
could identify the individual who trespassed on her property. Public
Information Officer Captain Henry found the injuries to the cats to
be disturbing.
Law was interviewed and denied killing the kittens, but confessed
after Goodrich filed a protective order against him.
Sadly, this wasn’t the first time he had harmed cats. In May 2022,
police discovered two kittens, one deceased, the other injured, in
Law’s backpack. He was charged with two felony counts of animal
cruelty. For this crime, Law received a trite sentence of just 90
days incarceration and five years on probation. Court documents
state that Law has been diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Law has a history of altering a firearm serial number, petit
larceny, disturbing the peace, domestic abuse: assault and battery,
trespassing, assault and battery, unlawful possession of
methamphetamine, malicious injury to property, and cruelty to
animals charged in 2022, and 2023. From 2019 to 2023, Law was
prosecuted for eight crimes.
While we understand that mental illness is a tragic condition that
must be recognized and addressed by society, violent criminal acts
must not be mitigated, especially when the individual is a repeat
offender.
We very much appreciate the efforts of all in Oklahoma law
enforcement and members of the justice system who treated this
disturbing case with the severity it deserves. Their actions bring a
measure of justice for his victims and protect against future harm
to both humans and other animals.