Wetumpka, Alabama – Outrage and disbelief is spreading among people from across the nation about a judge’s decision to find two senior women, who were helping to remedy the feral cat problem in Wetumpka, guilty of four criminal charges. Mary Alston, 61, and Beverly Roberts, 85, were arrested this summer for their efforts to feed, and alter, feral cats in the Alabama town.
The entire case has been mind-boggling. The women were feeding and altering the homeless cats with their own funds – they were providing a service to the town and saving residents tax dollars. As a thank you for their efforts, they were arrested by four police officers, allegedly by the directive of the town’s mayor.
The women were arrested on June 25 – on public property. There are no laws against feeding cats, and it is not possible to trespass on public property. Despite these facts, a judge found them guilty, sentencing them to two years of unsupervised probation, $100 fines, in addition to court fees. The women were sentenced to 10 days in jail, but that time was suspended.
The guilty verdict has left 85-year-old Beverly Roberts so distraught that she cannot eat, or even get out of bed, reports Inside Edition.
The attorneys for the women are appealing the verdict and a petition supporting them has garnered nearly 20,000 signatures (click here to read more).
Watch a video commentary about this bizarre case below.
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I’ve been watching this story unfold from the beginning. The mayor had it out for these women because they got a law passed that people cannot chain their dogs outside 24/7. The mayor has refused to implement the no dog chaining law and made up a law about feeding and trapping feral cats on public land. As for the judge he needs to be fired for using his bench for political and not legal reasons and if the judge has a law license it needs to be suspended (not all judges have to have a law license, don’t you know). Here is SW Missouri municipal judges are appointed and anyone can be a judge. This judge didn’t care about the law only his job that he probably got from the mayor!
This decision seems wrong!!! WTF is wrong with these people??? These women are doing a public service by helping these cats.
My former neighbor and I would have been arrested for doing the exact same thing (feeding the cats and getting them desexed)……
TBH as much as I love cats, I do recognize that they are little hunters and often kill off small mammals and songbirds. Also, it’s much better to have the overpopulation controlled vs. starving and fighting cats everywhere….