A judge has rejected a Florida man’s “stand your ground” defense, claiming that he only beat an iguana to death after it attacked him and bit him on the arm.
PJ Nilaja Patterson, 43, must stand trial on a felony animal cruelty charge, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jeffrey Dana Gillen recently ruled, according to the South Florida SunSentinel.
The “stand your ground” law allows a person who is under attack and reasonably fears death or great bodily harm to use deadly force, even if they could retreat to safety. It has been used in several high-profile cases since its adoption 16 years ago, but this may be the first time an animal has been the recipient of deadly force.
Prosecutors allege that Patterson “savagely beat, tormented, tortured, and killed” the 3-foot (1-meter) iguana in a half-hour attack captured on surveillance video.
This only proves the lizards are in charge.
Hmmmm, sounds like he has a reptile dysfunction…
I’m surprised he didn’t blame it on listening to Underground Texas Radio….
I hoid the Iguana started it cuz he took offense at being called the insti-gator!
These people are insane.
It’s a fukkin lizard, for pity’s sake.
izlamo delenda est …
Wish I was in Tiughana,
Eating BBQed…..
Not only is it a lizard, it’s an invasive specie lizard, kill anytime, anywhere, anyway you like.
Same for the pythons in the swamps.
Somebody in the “prosecutors” office needs to be cold cocked, with a frozen lizard.
“What a maroon.” – Bugs
Just type Florida Iguana problem at youtube and ask yourself if his attorney should be using an insanity defense instead of self-defense. These lizards are going to out populate people.
I don’t care what kind of animal it is, cruelty toward them is just sickening. Anyone that does it is a twisted POS.
It’s called inhumane for a reason.
If you have to put down any living thing, do it quickly, or you risk becoming an uncivilized barbarian.
They kill hundreds of them on youtube
with $3000 air rifles.Quick death.
Torture is sick when done to ANY living
thing… BTW= droppings have salmonella.
The Tequa lizard is the fastest growing invasive
in Flota today.We now have the Cuban Anole in south
Texas.Came up from Miami. They hitched hiked on
automobiles. I have seen them on my car when I was
going down the road!
Tastes like chicken.
“… cruelty toward them is just sickening.”
It’s “cruelty” to defend yourself against an attacking lizard?
What if it had been a bobcat? Or a mountain lion?
Sometimes it takes a while to fend off a determined attack.
I don’t know the details, but it seems reasonable on its face.
izlamo delenda est …
I’m late to this thread but I’ll chime in anyway.
Is animal cruelty sickening? Yes. Yes it is.
But is it criminal? No, or at least it shouldn’t be.
Crimes are actions that violate another person’s rights. An iguana is not a person. When you can show me an iguana signing a contract with full understanding of that that signifies, then I’ll change my position immediately.