Assm. O’Neill Backs Bill Increasing Penalties For Animal Cruelty

Yesterday, Assembly Minority Leader P.K. O’Neill presented AB159 before the Assembly Committee on Judiciary. The proposed bill would preclude those convicted of cruelty against animals from being eligible for early release. The impetus for this bill was the horrific case of Jason Brown in 2014 who was convicted of torturing and killing dogs, and in 2022 became eligible for parole.

Assembly Republicans are prioritizing this bill as matter of important public safety because there is a strong link between cruelty to animals and those who go on to harm other vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and those with disabilities. The FBI uses cruelty to animals when profiling potential dangerous criminals because it is such a strong predictor of future violence. 

“Over the last few years in Nevada, we have seen, in the news media, several reprehensible incidents of animal cruelty. Sadly, we do not currently have laws and sentencing guidelines in Nevada statute to punish these horrible crimes properly,” said Minority Leader P.K. O’Neill.  “I’ve never received so many emails and phone calls from my constituents about an issue. Today, I am proud to present this bipartisan bill which would solve this problem by adding definitions of animal cruelty crimes and corresponding sentencing guidelines to statute. Those who harm animals with evil and malicious intent should not be allowed to seek release or have their records sealed. Put simply, those who commit serious acts of animal cruelty need to be locked up. We need to make sure our public safety officers and our courts have the power to do so.”