Cat-n-Scratch

Thank you for recognizing public concern in the case of Tiger Lily, a kitten
scorched alive inside an oven on May 6, 2009. I understand Cheyenne Cherry,
17, is charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty, burglary, arson,
criminal trespass, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.

I respectfully ask for your utmost deliberation in the investigation of
Cherry and her accomplice, who allegedly broke into ex-roommate Valerie
Hernandez’s home and trapped Tiger Lily inside an activated stove.
Apparently, they ransacked the apartment and raised the stove’s heat before
fleeing with stolen items. The girls never heard Tiger Lily’s last screams
and scratches against the oven door.

Please seek maximum adult incarceration of two years for felony animal
cruelty. Cherry also faces possible jail terms of 15 years for second-degree
burglary, one year for arson, and four years for criminal mischief. I urge
you to hold both teens accountable. Both require psychological evaluation
and therapy. Both should be barred from possessing or working with animals.

At the very least, they ought to be interned in a juvenile detention hall
until age 18 (if applicable). Then, reassessment of the girls’ personality
traits can determine if adult imprisonment is necessary.

Adolescents who commit brutal crimes against humans usually begin with
animals. Columbine shooter Eric Harris, 18, smashed mice with a crowbar and
set them on fire. Washington D.C. serial killer Lee Boyd Malvo killed stray
cats with a slingshot. Kip Kinkle blew up a cow and burned a live cat. He
then shot 25 classmates and murdered his parents in Springfield, Oregon.
After Luke Woodham, 16, mortally stabbed his mother and shot nine others, he
confessed to bludgeoning his dog with baseball bats and setting her on fire.

These murderers, like Cherry, were able to torture and kill without remorse.
Indeed, the intentional burning of an animal is a “particularly significant
predictor of violent and even homicidal behavior,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood
of ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent consultant for cruelty
investigators, law enforcers and mental health professionals.

Cherry “thought we would play a joke on Valerie.”  But she and her friend
are not guilty of warped humor or bad choices. Roasting a defenseless kitten
is the calculated action of a sociopath and a predator.

Thank you for prosecuting Cherry and her accomplice to the fullest degree
allowed by law.