Law Commons^™

Skinning The Cat: How Mandatory Psychiatric Evaluations For Animal Cruelty Offenders Can Prevent Future Violence, Ashley Kunz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

In 2017, the Texas legislature amended Texas Penal Code § 42.092, which governs acts of cruelty against non-livestock animals. The statute in its current form makes torturing, killing, or seriously injuring a non-livestock animal a third degree felony, while less serious offenses carry either a state jail felony or a Class A misdemeanor charge.

While a step in the right direction, Texas law is not comprehensive in that it fails to address a significant aspect of animal cruelty offenses: mental illness. For over fifteen years, Texas Family Code § 54.0407 has required psychiatric counseling for juveniles convicted of cruelty to …

Analyzing Somali Piracy Prosecutions, Molly Parent

SURE (Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience)

•From 2001-2010 the number of piracy incidents spiked. Somali piracy differs from other forms of piracy because it has a distinct modus operandi. Whereas most piracy is theft, Somali attacks focus primarily on capturing vessels and holding them for ransom. •The vessel attacks occur primarily in the high seas, outside the territorial jurisdiction of any one nation. Therefore, Somali piracy cases have been heard in various courts around the world. Many cases have been prosecuted in Kenya, Seychelles, the Netherlands, as well as many other countries around the world. •This analysis examines the nature of these prosecutions, and whether there …