October 13, 2009
Supreme Court weighs animal cruelty law
The United States Supreme Court is considering overturning a decade-old law banning depictions of animal cruelty. And according to one Supreme Court justice, that could pave the way for a “human sacrifice channel” or an “ethnic cleansing channel” on cable TV. The court heard the case of United States v. Robert Stevens last week, in which U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal argued that Stevens should be convicted under Title 18, Section 48 of the U.S. Code. The law states: “Whoever knowingly creates, sells, or possesses a depiction of animal cruelty with the intention of placing that depiction in interstate or foreign commerce for commercial gain, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both.”