On November 25, 2005 five dogs belonging to Jose Hernandez got loose. They escaped their pen, which was behind a short fence, only three feet tall. These were pit bull – Rottweiler mixes — the two breeds of dog that have been responsible for over half of the canine inflicted human deaths in recent years. […]
Like the prosecutors in the Diane Whipple case, the district attorney here found the existing laws to be inadequate. There was and is no state law that specifically addresses canine-inflicted homicides (i.e., deaths of humans, caused by dogs). (For proposed changes to the dog bite law of Texas, see Texas on this web site.) Texas […]
When this trial began, Lillian Stiles’ daughter, Marilyn Shoemaker, stated, “There needs to be accountability. I think this prosecution will send a message across Texas and the United States: if you’re a pet owner and they have the ability to cause serious injury or death, you need to think about how you are containing them.” […]
In November 2005, Lillian Stiles, 76, was mauled to death by a pack of dogs. The grand jury indicted their owner, Jose Hernandez, for criminally negligent homicide, but the trial jury found Hernandez not guilty. The case raises a common and troubling issue: when a dog kills, is its owner guilty of murder? Facts Criminal […]