WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS GRAPHIC! Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com
The surveillance video recorded last April and recently released shows four young men walking through a housing complex with Justice, a lab terrier puppy on a leash. One of the men wanders off-screen, then the dog wanders back into the frame, fully engulfed in flames, and collapses. The dog lived for ten days with 3rd-degree burns over 70% of his body before succumbing to his injuries.
One of the perpetrators apparently doused him him in lighter fluid and flicked a cigarette onto him. All four of the suspects pleaded guilty, and the three observers have already been sentenced.
The ringleader had agreed to a plea deal that would involve five years in prison, but the judge said that lighter fluid could not be considered a lethal weapon (he apparently did not see the video). He changed the plea deal, reducing Darius Ewing’s sentence to just two years. However, he then reversed his decision and reinstated the five-year deal.
In my opinion, even five years isn’t enough. What could possibly possess people (and I use that term loosely) to do something like this? I can’t even find the right words to describe it. Sad? Definitely, but also depraved, sick, and incomprehensible.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!