The day arrived after two postponements, when Keum H. Lee and Dr. Chong Lee, of Flushing and Middletown, would be sentenced for the negligence that almost killed two horses. On July 23rd at 9:30 a.m., I took my seat in the Orange County Courthouse in Goshen. After a short delay, the Lees, with their attorneys, Samuel Braverman and John Kelly, arrived to face Judge Jeffrey Berry. Our wonderful county prosecutor, Jamie Ferrara, was already at his table.

Lynda Broas, owner and director of Equine Rescue, Inc. of Bloomingburg, gave her statement first. Ms. Broas spoke for the horses, Suzi and Whiskey, as she detailed their suffering from late October 2008 to April of 2009. The most poignant sentence was that Suzi, who had lost half her body weight and had a halter grow into her face, broke out of her fence, "because she did not want to die." Shortly after that, a neighbor of the Lees, Susan Dano, found the horse on her property and called the police.

After Mr. Ferrara gave his statement to the judge, the Lees' attorneys each spoke for them. Mr. Braverman pointed out his love for dogs and how this case had made him much more aware of the proper condition of horses. He did however, feel that the Lees should not go to jail, because it was not intentional cruelty; and the Lees, who had no previous record, were old with medical conditions. Here is where I strongly disagree with the defense and the judge. The argument is that the Lees simply did not know how to take care of the horses; they did not feed them, they did not care for them, they did not call for a vet or ask for help. They are, however, intelligent adults who simply did not care and caused immense suffering to other living creatures. I saw no remorse, nor did I hear the Lees ask forgiveness or say they were sorry. I also felt that Judge Berry was too nice to them, pointing out that they have been good citizens and have helped society. The case was not about other things they did, but about the horrendously terrible neglect of helpless creatures in their care. If he was trying to say that their character was really good, he is wrong, in my opinion. Their character was also apart of what they failed to do. I thought they should have been fined much more than they were because the Lees caused stress and heartache as well to all of us who were so upset by this case.

Judge Berry said that the Lees, who are highly educated and financially stable, had made a tremendous mistake in not learning how to take care of horses. He talked about the beautiful American quarter horses that Suzi and Whiskey are. Judge Berry said that a society should be judged by the way it treats its most innocent members: the old, the very young, the infirm and the animals. He felt that not knowing the difference between hay and straw was no excuse. The judge did not see any merit in sending the Lees to jail, which he could have for up to a year, even as misdemeanors. He said that they had no previous records and had served society well in the past. Finally, Judge Berry sentenced the Lees to three years probation each, almost $25,000.00 to be paid to Equine Rescue, plus court costs, victims' fees and 300 hours of community service each.

The best part of the sentence was that he forbade the Lees from ever owning a horse or similar animal. He then declared Suzi and Whiskey free of the Lees and they are able to stay at Equine Rescue, where he hoped they would have a long and happy life.

And so after 15 months, I believe justice was done as far as the current law is written. Our next crusade is to work hard to change the law. The sad part is that it never should have happened. If you don't know how to take care of an animal, ask someone, call a vet or surrender them.