81 Year Old Mary Musselman Imprisoned For Feeding Birds
81 Year Old Mary Musselman Imprisoned For Feeding Birds
81 year old Mary Musselman was put in jail for feeding birds.
There is a little more to this story though.
Back in November of 2013 wild life officers had to to euthanize a bear she had been feeding.
Mary Musselman was warned to stop feeding bears by wild life officers, which she fed on and near her property. She continued to feed bears and was arrested in January and was put on probation.
As part of her probation Mary Musselman was instructed not to feed any bears and not to feed any wildlife.
Her attorney, William Fletcher, told FOX 13 that officers arrested her again after they checked her property and found that she left breadcrumbs out for birds to eat.
Mary Musselman’s actions did violate the terms of her violation, but come on she was feeding birds.
William Fletcher told the court that medical evaluation concluded that Mary Musselman suffers from Alzheimer’s and dementia, and he requested that the judge place her at her brother’s home in Illinois instead of in jail.
The judge denied Fletcher’s request and ordered Musselman to be secured in jail until she received a more complete mental evaluation.
This case hits home for many who have elderly parents who suffer from Alzheimer’s and dementia. It would seems that the judge in this case was going be the letter of the law instead to using common sense to deal with this case more humanely.
It think the feeling is “Will all people just become a number to be processed?”
Couldn’t more compassion have been shown to an 81 year old woman by letting her stay with her brother? She will likely suffer more than benefit from any rehabilitation jail could offer her.
