A judge struggled to find words for his anger while handing down a sentence to an Ohio woman who ate a cat in front of her home this summer.
On the night of Aug. 16, 27-year-old Allexis Ferrell grabbed a stray cat and began eating it while it was still alive. Footage from freaked-out neighbors shows Ferrell on all fours in a driveway as she devoured the poor animal.
When horrified police officers arrived and asked Ferrell why she ate a cat, the woman — whose mouth was covered in blood — had no answer.
She still hasn’t explained her actions.
“This is repulsive to me. I mean, that anyone would do this to an animal. And an animal’s like a child. I don’t know if you understand that or not,” said Stark County Judge Frank Forchione. “I can’t express the disappointment, shock, disgust that this crime has brought to me.”
The judge says he considers Ferrell a threat to the community.
On Monday, Forchione sentenced Ferrell to a year in prison, which she’ll serve in addition to 18 months’ prison time for two earlier cases involving theft and child endangerment. The one-year sentence is the maximum for felony animal cruelty in Ohio.
The incident made national headlines not only because it was vile, but also because the details weren’t made public until September — after then-candidate Donald Trump claimed immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating pets.
Unscrupulous social media influencers and clickbait “news” sites added to the confusion by initially tagging Ferrell as one of the pet-eating immigrants, despite Canton’s location some 170 miles northeast of Springfield. Ferrell is an American citizen and was born here.
Oddly, although follow-up stories reported Ferrell’s attorneys petitioned the judge for drug and alcohol abuse treatment for their client, there was no mention of Ferrell being under the influence of drugs or alcohol the night she killed the cat.
Here on PITB we’ve flagged stories that illustrate the disturbing normalization of violence toward cats and other animals, but this incident defies categorization. Hopefully Ferrell is given the help she needs and is prevented from ever owning or interacting with animals in the future.
Pain In The Bud 
I am far less generous than you are, I actually hope if her issue is drugs that she buys something cut with fentanyl and dies in agony..
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I think Fentanyl deaths involve losing consciousness and respiratory failure rather than agony. Obviously not a good way to go, but far from the worst.
I’m just trying to remember she’s human, I don’t know what her circumstances are, and she has a family. That doesn’t make her crime any less repulsive, and it certainly doesn’t excuse her actions.
My biggest concern is that 2 1/2 years is not a long sentence, and she could be out much earlier if she serves her time quietly. Not a lot of time to get help and work through issues so she’s not a danger when she rejoins society.
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You are of course right in your view that the sentence is far too short. I am of course over-blown by extreme emotion and the horror of this, (as I am sure you are). However your approach and reporting is much more balanced than my reponse – thanks for your response PITB.
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I’m sorry but i am with John on this. She would be 6 feet under if that were my cat BUT I WOULD NEVER LET MY CAT OUT!!
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I think she needs a shrink really bad.
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I agree. I would feel nothing for her if she did do that. Thinning the herd and rid society of her scourge would be for the best.
Normally I wouldn’t be so flippant about this, but what she did is beyond the pale. Are we just supposed to wait around for her to do this to a human and then get really mad about it? Harming animals is usually the starting point for POS’s like her. And are we really so naive that we actually believe she’ll get help in prison? I think not. If anything, she’ll come out even worse. She should’ve been slapped with a longer sentence. Life wouldn’t be long enough for me.
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There’s just times when the justice system cannot punish these monsters enough…I am never at a loss, however, between this and Nightbitch, which will encourage behaviors like this, I’m just not going to try to find words to describe my feelings at this time. Best to you & Buddy
*I may be quiet but Oreo & I are reading you :). Let’s just say times could surely get better. We wish you both a happy holiday season (Aside from so much of the recent madness…) both you & Buddy remain in our thoughts & in our hearts… always)*
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No worries, I took that long break and while I’ve resumed posting, it’s been a slower pace. Thanks for sticking with us!
Likewise, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you, Oreo and your family. The cold really sucks, but the holiday parties aren’t bad.:)
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I just wanted to say tysm & also I’m glad you mentioned that you stopped posting because I thought you took me off the mailing list. I always want what’s best for both you & Buddy too. I wish you the very best of holidays & hopefully both Buddy & Oreo (Who are the same age) stay strong & healthy as well. You have a loyal PITB reader here & I’m glad you’re in my atmosphere…I’m going to be reading whenever you feel like writing ✍️😊🫶🏼🫂Please take good care
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I would never take you off the list. We’re almost back to regular frequency now, and Bud’s gotta write to Santa and prepare for Festivus!
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I’m here for it. I don’t do Christmas so Festivus I can wrap around! I’ll be here. Go write! Head bumps & rubs to Buddy 🙂
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A Festivus for the rest of us! Time to dust off the Festivus pole.
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Every time I read one of these awful stories, I give my beloved Panther Guy extra hugs and kisses and pets. And I am so glad to read about all the love and support (and turkey treats) the Little Buddy enjoys from his devoted Big Buddy.
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Haha, I do that with Bud too after I read stories like this, and he’s like “What’s gotten into you, human?”
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Do you think tRump supporters care she is an AMERICAN? The woman who reported another incident with a missing cat and found it in basement said it was a HAITEN. Then never apologized. Any sibling who enters my home will be called a RACIST ANTI-SEMITIC POS. I warned my brainwashed sister.
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Did i ever mention that i helped Haitan community in Brooklyn fix over 40 cats about 20 years ago? They were weary of white people helping because they thought we were trapping them to have them killed. Low income area but thriving businesses. They spend thier hard earned money to feed these ferals. They built winter shelters for them. I told them do not hesitate to ask for cat food. I still keep in touch with couple of people who said there are about 6 cats left.Few other strays came in. Oldest might be19. They teach thier kids about being kind to these cats. Needless to say, they were not surprised about what happened in Springfield.
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Jesus wept. WTH is wrong with people? This woman is obviously mentally impaired.
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To Quilpy. Mental illness is one thing. Drugs are another. I take care of my elderly brother who has been taking Haldol for about 40 years.Doing great. So i know all about mental illness. I have nothing against mentally ill people. They need help but this society looks upon them as vermin.
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Why didn’t those ‘freaked-out neighbors’ try to STOP HER?????
The only excuse I could come up with- other than apathy – would be that she was high as a kite, probably on meth, and they were afraid of what she would do next, if they tried to get involved.
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I wondered about that too. It was like something out of Black Mirror to see all those people standing around her with their phones recording, and there’s the enormous shadow of a man to her left. Eerie scene.
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