8tad3Many of you may remember our petition “Justice for Marcus” that collected over 33,000 signatures, and asked the prosecutor and judge to prosecute the cat’s abuser, Taylor Winum, to the fullest extent of the law .
Monday 3/19 was the sentencing for Winum, who came to court with alcohol and cocaine in his system according to his urinalysis. We sat through the painful surveillance video from the apartment complex where the horrific incident took place. After this, Marcus’ heartbroken guardian stood in front of the courtroom to explain how this tragedy has affected her, and what she would like to see done as a result.
Winum was sentenced to 120 days in jail, anger management classes, random drug testing, active mental health treatment, not allowed to own a pet/service animal or have unsupervised contact with an animal, and three years probation.
While Winum did not get the full sentence allowed by law, we are pleased that this case was taken seriously by the court. Read Marcus’ guardian’s moving statement.