An Ohio woman was jailed for a year for killing and eating a cat.
The arrest of Alexis T. Ferrell received international attention after it was falsely used as evidence for claims by Donald Trump and candidate JD Vance that Haitians who moved to Springfield, Ohio were eating their livestock.
Ferrell, 28, of Canton, Ohio, pleaded guilty Monday to cruelty to animals and was given a maximum prison sentence by Frank G. Forchione of Stark County Common Pleas Ferrell, according to Canton Repository.
“I cannot express how disappointed, shocked, and disgusted I am by this crime. I don’t know what would make a person want to eat a cat,” said the judge.
“You have disgraced this region. You have disgraced this nation. More importantly, you embarrassed yourself,” added Forchione. “To me, you pose a danger to our community. This is disgusting to me, I mean, that anyone would do this to an animal. And the animal is like a child. I don’t know if you understand it or not.”
“True,” the Repository said Ferrell’s answer.
“They bring so much love to so many people,” Forchione continued. “They have no voice. But their only voice today is me and I will use this voice loudly.”
The defendant previously pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but an expert report from Akron’s Psycho-Diagnostic Clinic said he could understand what was going on in court.
After the August 16 arrest, a video from police body camera footage was posted with the false headline–’Haitian Woman’s Cat in East Neighbor in Springfield.’
Prosecutors said police arrived at the scene before Ferrell could eat more of the cat.
“The police were able to see that Allexis had crushed the cat’s head and feet and started eating it. I saw blood on Alexis’ feet, hands, and hair on his lips,” said the report of an officer.
The Canton Repository reported that the mother of three’s psychological report stated that she is “upset, angry, deceitful, remorseless, shows a disregard for the safety of others and fails to conform to social norms of respect for legal procedures by continuing to engage in actions that warrant arrest.”
Alexis Ferrell was jailed for killing and eating a cat.
Ferrell appealed to a judge to get drug and alcohol treatment.
During his only presidential debate with Kamala Harris, Trump repeated the absurd claim that immigrants in Ohio were eating pets, saying: “In Springfield, they’re eating dogs. The people who came in, they’re eating cats. They’re eating—they’re eating the pets of the people who live there.”
A video of Ferrell’s arrest was circulated online shortly after, but the Canton incident took place about 170 miles from Springfield and Ferrell is a US citizen.