USA: Man who quartered dogs could be released from prison

RENO, Nevada, USA (AP) A man sentenced to prison for torturing, killing and dismembering seven dogs is eligible for possible release years earlier than initially believed, authorities said.

The Nevada Department of Corrections had initially calculated that 32-year-old Jason Brown would not be able to access parole until 2025, but now he claims that was legally incorrect under Nevada law given his crimes involving dogs and not people, published the Reno Gazette Journal.

“Animals are considered personal property under the law in Nevada,” said department spokesman Bill Quenga, who added that a designation of violence under the law can only be applied when the victim is a person.

Reclassifying Brown from a violent offender to a non-violent offender implied that the credits, such as good behavior in prison, would have allowed him access to probation since 2019, Quenga said.

A Nevada Parole Board hearing is scheduled for April 11 to consider his possible release.

“Please note, however, that if an offender can access parole it does not guarantee that they will be granted parole,” Quenga said.

Brown was sentenced in 2015 to up to 28 years in prison after he failed to challenge seven felony counts of maiming, poisoning or killing someone else's animal. He said he was addicted to drugs and didn't remember what happened.

During the sentencing hearing on Brown, the owners of some of the dogs testified that they sold him puppies because he looked like a normal and presentable boy when he responded to their ads on the website Craigslist.

These people cried in the courtroom when a judge watched the videotapes of Brown torturing and skinning the dogs.