Washington Supreme Court Rules Animal Abuse Can Be Domestic Violence

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously confirmed that animal abuse can constitute domestic violence.

The court issued its ruling Thursday in the case of Charmarke Abdi-Issa, who was convicted of animal abuse with a domestic violence designation for savagely beating his girlfriend’s dog to death in a Seattle parking lot in 2018.

He was sentenced to 18 months in prison – 12 for animal abuse and six more because the attack traumatized a woman who witnessed it.

The justices unanimously held that the purpose of the domestic violence designation is to enforce existing criminal statutes in a way that ensures victims are protected.

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