A man from Beaumont, Texas, has received a federal prison sentence of over three years for an act of animal cruelty involving a cat, which was filmed and shared online.
Donaldvan Williams, 30, was sentenced to 40 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of animal crushing and aiding and abetting in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
The incident occurred in October 2021 when Williams and his accomplice, Decorius Mire, found a cat in a parking lot. Williams kicked the cat so hard that it flew 15 to 20 feet. The shocking video later spread on social media, triggering public outrage.
Additionally, a third individual, who remains unidentified, is accused of setting the cat on fire shortly after the incident.
Williams was charged under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which provides stricter penalties compared to Texas state laws, where animal cruelty does not carry as strong of consequences.
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Davilyn Walston, spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs, emphasized that the severity of the crime justified federal charges, noting, “State penalties aren’t as harsh for particularly egregious offenders.”
Had Williams faced state charges, he could have served as little as two years.
Meanwhile, Mire also took a plea deal and was sentenced to 18 months in July 2023.
This case has sparked a debate about the adequacy of animal cruelty laws in Texas. Advocates are calling for stronger legislation following the enactment of “Loco’s Law” in 2001, which classifies animal cruelty as a felony with penalties of up to $10,000 in fines and two years in jail. Named after a puppy who suffered brutal abuse, this law marked a significant change in Texas’s approach to animal welfare, which was previously lenient.
However, Texas’s animal cruelty laws are still criticized as being limited because they exclude certain animals from protection, including those used in circuses, experiments, and wild animals.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.