WASHINGTON—The HSUS today is honoring three Montgomery County officials for their work that brought about the first conviction of animal cruelty under Maryland’s one-year-old felony law.

State’s Attorney Douglas F. Gansler, Assistant State’s Attorney Alex Foster and Officer Herbert Emerson of the Montgomery County Police Department Animal Services Division will receive awards at an 11:00 a.m. ceremony in the lobby of the Montgomery County Judicial Center (Circuit Court).

“Montgomery County is setting a standard for all other counties in the state to observe,” said Wayne Pacelle, an HSUS senior vice president. Pacelle will present plaques expressing The HSUS’ appreciation to Gansler, Foster, and Emerson. “The investigators and prosecutors in our county treated this matter with the gravity that it deserves and they sent a signal to the community that individuals who perpetrate extreme acts of animal abuse will be dealt with in a stern and swift manner.”

The conviction came last month in response to a brutal case of cruelty in which Rick Speight, 21, was convicted of beating a puppy to death with his fists last July in Germantown. Upon hearing about the case last summer, The HSUS posted a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction in the crime. Investigators credit two witnesses who provided key testimony that led to Speight’s conviction. A $5,000 reward ($4,000 from The HSUS and $1,000 from the Montgomery County Humane Society) was split between the two witnesses, who asked not to be identified.

Speight faces a maximum three years in jail and or a fine of up to $5,000 when sentenced, which is scheduled for January 15, 2003. Speight may also be ordered to undergo psychological counseling.

Maryland became the 34th state to upgrade its laws on animal cruelty to felony status on October 1, 2002. Today, 37 states, including Virginia and the District of Columbia, have felony laws on the books for animal cruelty.

“Laws are only valuable if they are adequately and meaningfully enforced,” Pacelle said. “There should be zero tolerance for vicious acts of animal cruelty. Too often, people who commit such acts later turn their violence toward people.”