Associated PressPainesville, Ohio
An animal rescuer who abandoned 35 kittens in two parks has been sentenced to a night in the woods without food or shelter.
Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael A. Cicconetti, known for handing out unusual punishments, sentenced Michelle M. Murray to spend the cold night alone when she begins her 15-day jail sentence next week.
"How would you like to be dumped off at a Metropark late at night, spend the night listening to the coyotes coming upon you, listening to the raccoons around you in the dark night, and sit out there in the cold not knowing where you're going to get your next meal, not knowing when you are going to be rescued?" the judge asked. "That's what you're going to do."
Murray, 25, pleaded guilty last month to abandoning domestic animals, a second-degree misdemeanor. The kittens were recovered but many had infections and nine died.
She apologized and has previously said she was experiencing family problems when she dumped the kittens.
Murray must report to jail Wednesday where a park ranger will drop her off at a remote location.
Cicconetti previously sentenced a man who called an officer a pig to stand on a city sidewalk for two hours in a pen next to a 350-pound hog along with a sign reading, "This is not a police officer."
I like this judge!