In September, deputies from the Hoke County Sheriff’s Office went to a house on Covington Road. Inside, they found animals and reptiles that were starving. Several others were already dead.

The woman who lived there, Melissa Iglesias, has now been charged with 44 counts of animal cruelty: 17 felonies and 27 misdemeanors. She was arrested on October 30 and released on a $30,000 secured bond.

Animals kept in a home rely entirely on the person responsible for them. They can’t go looking for food, clean water or a vet. When that care stops, they suffer out of sight, and the law becomes the only protection they have left.

Charges are just the beginning. Cruelty cases can be reduced or quietly settled long before trial, and the harm done to the animals gets lost in the process. The animals found on Covington Road deserve a full accounting.

The Hoke County District Attorney has the power to pursue every one of these 44 counts. Prosecutors should take each one seriously, from the felonies to the misdemeanors, and not trade them away for a lighter outcome.

There’s a second step that matters just as much. If there is a conviction, the court should bar the person responsible from owning, keeping or caring for any animal in the future. Punishment addresses what already happened. An ownership ban helps prevent it from happening again.

Every person accused of a crime deserves a fair process. The animals in this case deserve one too, along with someone willing to stand up for them.

Sign the petition to call on the Hoke County District Attorney to prosecute all 44 charges and seek a lifetime animal ownership ban, before this case fades from view.