'Her survival should become a reason to strengthen the law, not a reason to minimize the crime." 

SABRINA'S STORY 
Sabrina's story is one of heartbreaking cruelty, but also extraordinary survival. 
According to the circumstances reported for this petition, Sabrina was severely starved until her life was in danger. Already severely weakened from starvation, Sabrina was _dragged up a flight of stairs by a collar wrapped around her neck before being tied to a fence and abandoned at a baseball field in Weehawken, New Jersey. In her fragile condition, she was left helpless and dependent upon someone finding her before it was too late. 
Sabrina was found by a passing stranger and ultimately placed with a rescue organization. Sabrina required intensive veterinary care as her body struggled to recover from prolonged starvation. 
What happened to Sabrina represents far more than simple neglect. The allegations describe a defenseless animal enduring prolonged deprivation, being physically mistreated while already severely weakened, and then being restrained and abandoned rather than being provided the medical care she desperately needed. 
Sabrina survived because someone found her, not because the person responsible for her condition chose to save her. 
Her survival should not lessen the seriousness of the alleged cruelty. Had no one discovered Sabrina in time, the outcome could have been tragically different. 
It is for th is reason that Sabrina's story is the inspiration for "Sabrina's Law," an effort to strengthen New Jersey's animal-cruelty laws so that purposeful or knowing, life-threatening cruelty, including deliberate starvation, severe physical abuse, and abandonment of an animal in critical condition, can carry penalties proportionate to the suffering inflicted. 
AN ANIMAL SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DIE FOR INTENTIONAL, LIFE-THREATENING CRUEL TY TO BE TREATED AS AN EXCEPTIONALLY SERIOUS CRIME.

PETITION TO STRENGTHEN NEW JERSEY ANIMAL CRUELTY PENALTIES 
Protect animals from deliberate, prolonged, and life-threatening abuse. 
An animal should not have to die for intentional, life-threatening cruelty to be treated as an exceptionally serious crime.

To: The Governor of New Jersey, members of the New Jersey Legislature, and appropriate State officials 
Our Request:  We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon the State of New Jersey to strengthen N.J.S.A. 4:22-17 so that penalties for intentional, prolonged, and life-threatening cruelty appropriately reflect the severity of the offense. 
New Jersey law recognizes different levels of animal cruelty. However, the current framework can leave a significant gap between the suffering imposed on an animal and the criminal consequences when an animal survives only because a passerby, police officer, animal-control officer, rescue organization, or veterinarian intervenes in time.

Current New Jersey Framework

• Failure to provide necessary care and certain other prohibited acts: A first violation under subsection may be treated as a disorderly persons offense. Certain subsection (a) violations may become a fourth­degree crime when the person has a qualifying prior conviction.
• Purposeful, knowing, or reckless cruelty causing bodily injury: Under subsection (c), conduct may be charged as a fourth-degree crime when a person purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury through specified cruelty or failure to provide necessary care.
• Death or serious bodily injury: A subsection (c) violation may be graded as a third-degree crime when the animal dies, suffers serious bodily injury, or the offender has the qualifying prior conviction described in the statute.
• General sentencing ranges: A New Jersey fourth-degree crime may carry up to 18 months of imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000. A third-degree crime ordinarily carries three to five years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $15,000.
• Additional consequences: N.J.S.A. 4:22-17 also provides for community service and restitution for qualifying costs associated with the animal's care, including veterinary and shelter-related expenses.

Important: The precise charge in any case depends on the statutory subsection, the person's mental state, documented injury, prior convictions, and the evidence available to prosecutors. 

Why Stronger Penalties Are Needed 
Consider a dog deliberately deprived of food over an extended period until the dog becomes emaciated, weak, dehydrated, and close to death. Instead of obtaining veterinarytreatment, the responsible person abandons the dog in a public park while tied to a fence, leaving the animal helpless and dependent on chance intervention.

The fact that rescuers reach the animal before death should not operate to the advantage of the person who deliberately created the Life-threatening condition. There is a fundamental difference between a temporary lapse or negligent care and a prolonged, purposeful or knowing course of cruelty that brings an animal close to death.

Proposed Legislative Reforms

1. Establish a second-degree aggravated animal-cruelty offense
   Permit second-degree prosecution when a person purposely or knowingly engages in prolonged cruelty or deprivation of necessary care under circumstances demonstrating extreme indifference to an animal's life, regardless of whether emergency intervention ultimately saves the animal.
2. Explicitly address deliberate starvation and deprivation
   Identify purposeful or knowing prolonged deprivation of food, water, necessary shelter, or necessary veterinary care that creates a substantial threat to Life as aggravated cruelty when the required intent and harm are proven.
3. Recognize near-fatal cruelty without requiring death
   Allow life-threatening physical deterioration documented by veterinary evidence to support aggravated grading even when rescue or medical care prevents death.
4. Treat abandonment following severe cruelty as an aggravating circumstance
   Recognize the abandonment of a starving, seriously injured, critically ill, or otherwise helpless animal as an aggravating factor, particularly when the animal is restrained or left unable to seek safety.
5. Strengthen restrictions on future animal ownership
   Authorize meaningful restrictions against owning, possessing, living with, working with, or exercising control over animals for persons convicted of aggravated animal cruelty, with escalating consequences for repeat violations.
6. Preserve and strengthen restitution
   Require offenders to reimburse qualifying veterinary, shelter, rescue, investigative, and animal-care costs so that public agencies and nonprofit organizations are not forced to bear expenses caused by the offender's conduct.
7. Support the principle reflected in River's Law
   Build on the policy direction of proposed River's Law, A3644, which seeks second-degree treatment for specified abuse of a domestic companion animal committed with extreme indifference to the value of the animal's life.

A Life Saved Should Not Mean a Crime Minimized

The focus should be on the offender's conduct, intent, the suffering inflicted, and the danger created, not merely whether the animal happened to survive. 

For an animal rescued shortly before death, the difference between life and death may have nothing to do with the offender. It may depend entirely on compassionate intervention and emergency treatment. The offender should not receive the benefit of that intervention.

We therefore urge New Jersey's elected officials to amend N.J.S.A. 4:22-17 and enact stronger, clearly defined penalties for deliberate starvation, near-fatal deprivation, severe cruelty, abandonment of compromised animals, and repeat offenses.

By signing this petition, I support the passage of Sabrina's Law and stronger criminal penalties for animal starvation, abandonment, dumping, and severe neglect.