Cat Killers Sentenced

(Middletown, New York) Three young men have been convicted and sentenced for the 2004 cat-killing spree at the Blooming Grove Humane Society Animal Shelter. Michael Melfi, 19, and Michael Bornhoeft, 21, each received terms of two to seven years in state prison. Terry Ayres, 20, testified against Melfi and Bornhoeft and was sentenced to an easier stretch of one to three years in prison.

It's not clear where cat-killers will fit in the prison hierarchy. Historically, child molesters have generally occupied the lowest status as prisoners, automatically becoming all other prisoners' whipping boys. However, based upon the emotional outrage triggered by the cat-killers, they may replace child molesters at the bottom of the prisoner totem.