A black teenager will spend over two decades in prison for killing a dog. According to Sun Sentinel, Ivins Rosier, 17, and his friends broke into the home of a Florida state trooper and burglarized the house.
During the burglary, Rosier shot a retired police dog who was barking. Five days after the German Shepard dog was shot, he was euthanized. Rosier was arrested and tried as an adult for shooting the dog.
A law enforcement agent lied to Rosier and told him that killing a police dog was similar to shooting a police officer. However, since the dog was retired, the teen could not be charged with murdering a police officer.
The teen’s defense attorneys argued that the indictment violated his right to be sentenced as a juvenile and the police lied in order to get a confession from the teen.
On July 11, Circuit Judge Robin Rosenberg handed Rosier a sentence that is usually given to those who kill human beings. Rosier was sentenced to 23 years in prison. If he was tried as a youthful offender, Rosier would have only received 6 years in prison.
Rosier’s lawyers called the sentence a “sadistic” punishment to be given to a child. His lawyers also said they will seek a new trial.
