On Aug. 5, a witness in Brookhaven, Georgia, watched Valentina Tobon Henao throw three kittens out of her moving minivan. One kitten died in the roadway. A second was found with a dislocated tail and scratched ears. The third, only eight weeks old, is still missing, alone outside with coyotes and birds of prey nearby.

The kitten who died never had a chance. No animal deserves to be thrown from a moving vehicle like trash, and the community that rallied to help, from the witness who followed the car and called police to the neighbor now caring for the surviving kitten, deserves to see this case taken seriously.

Tobon Henao was arrested and charged with cruelty to animals, then released on bond just two days later. That's a fast turnaround for a case involving a dead animal, an injured survivor, and a kitten still unaccounted for. Brookhaven police and Georgia prosecutors should pursue the strongest charges available and reject any plea deal that treats this as a minor offense.

The search for the third kitten is still active, with signs posted around Brookhaven Park. That kitten deserves the same urgency from local officials that the community has already shown. Every day it remains missing, its odds get worse.

Cases like this also expose how weak animal cruelty consequences can be in Georgia. A quick bond release shouldn't be the extent of accountability when an animal has died. Lawmakers should look at whether current penalties actually reflect the seriousness of intentionally harming defenseless animals.

Sign this petition to demand full prosecution in this case, continued support for finding the missing kitten, and stronger animal cruelty penalties so the next case doesn't end the same way.