Exodus 21:28, 29

Exodus 21:28, 29

If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die: then the ox shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be quit.

But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

a. There is not too many instances in our modern culture where an ordinary law, from Moses time, regarding a dangerous animal, can be applied to our present time, but  I believe this one can. In my view there is no doubt after looking at all the evidence that these defendants were worthy of the death penalty.

1. In January 2001, two dogs killed Diane Whipple of San Francisco as she tried to enter her apartment. In the year that followed, shocking details emerged about the case, and criminal charges ranging all the way to murder were filed against the owners of the dogs, Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel. The guilty verdicts that were rendered in March 2002 did not finish the case. They rather were the start of its appellate phase, focusing upon the circumstances under which a dog owner should be found guilty of murder when her dog kills a person. In May 2007, the California Supreme Court sent the case back to the trial court for a new decision that most likely will start a fresh round of appeals… Attorney Kenneth Phillips, the author of Dog Bite Law, appeared regularly on CNN, CourtTV, and network television, giving extensive commentaries on the criminal prosecution as it took place. This section of Dog Bite Law was referred to as "the bible of the trial" and is the most comprehensive source of information about it, containing summaries of trial testimony, names of witnesses, legal analysis of the charges, clarification of the appellate case, and much more.

a. The crime: On January 26, 2001, shortly after 4:00 PM, San Francisco police and paramedics responded to calls from a Pacific Heights apartment building. They found a naked woman lying in blood, barely alive, her body bitten everywhere, bloody handprints covering the walls, and blood extending 4 feet up the walls and 30 feet own the hallway. Bits of clothing littered the floor, and a blood-soaked green nylon leash for a dog was lying nearby. A large dog was running loose, causing the officers to draw their guns. Nobody else could be seen.

b. The victim of this crime was Diane Whipple. She was a lacrosse coach, and lived in an apartment 50 feet from where the dogs lived. Whipple died that night at 8:55 p.m. at San Francisco General Hospital.

c. Bane and Hera were the Presa Canario dogs that savagely killed Whipple. Presa Canarios were originally bred for fighting, guarding and some herding in Spain's Canary Islands. The breed was near extinction by the 1950s and was brought back when it was mixed with mastiffs and others. Introduced in the United States in 1990, there are now more than 1,000.

d. The dogs were obtained for eventual sale through a web site called "Dog-o'-War." Seven such dogs first lived on a Trinity County farm, where they were not trained to fight, attack or kill. Then Bane and Hera lived for a couple of months in Los Angeles, and following that, inside the San Francisco apartment of Robert Edward Noel and Marjorie F. Knoller. The "Dog-o'-War" operation was shut down by prison authorities in April 2000.

e. Bane was euthanized the day of the attack. Following a dangerous dog hearing, Hera was ordered euthanized and was put down in January 2002. (From the website:www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/Whipple.html)

f. Testimony: “Nearly 60 witnesses testified…These witnesses, collectively, testified that there were about 30 occassions in which they or others had aggressive encounters with the dogs. Some also testified about incidents which showed the defendants lack of control over Bane and Hera. For example, several witnesses said they saw either Noel or Knoller being dragged by the dogs. A veterinarian, Donald Martin who examined the dogs while they were at Coumbs’ farm, testified that months prior to the mauling he had sent the defendants a letter warning them that Bane and Hera “would be liabilities in any household.” Several others testified about the warnings they gave the defendants; for example, the need to have the dogs muzzled.” (From the website: www.sanfranciscodogmauling.com)