James Gray

[spaniel]

James John Gray (aged 45) has been sentenced to 24 weeks in prison and banned from keeping equines for life. He has also been ordered to pay £400,000 in costs.

 

[Michelle22]

Suppose that is something, but still not enough in my books!

 

[brummel]

I agree...castrating him with a blunt knife should have been part of the sentence!!!!

 

[EstherSupporter]

He should rot in hell

 

[Gingernags]

I think I'll be raising a glass to that judge tonight, bloody well done.

Might not be much in the grand scheme of things but he got the maximum he could get and thats a start.

Did the judge mention Patty in the summing up? *snigger*

 

[kbsaff]

I want to add, that a big Well Done should go to all of those involved in Operation Esther, The Charities, and everyone who helped raise the profile of this case.
I'm almost certain that without your persistent hard work and dedication, this case would have been treated as "just another neglect case" and this sentence would never have been reached.
Well Done and Thank you - you are a credit to the horse world
xx

 

[Three]

What Kbsaff said....

Thank you from me too.

 

[Michelle22]

Oh just to add, He will prob only serve a 3rd of his sentence (16 weeks) and that will just be a free meal ticket to him and eveything done for him in prison, even his washing!

I hope he get treated just as badley as he treated the horses inside.

At least he got the max sentence.

Does anyone know if he is going to appeal?

 

[Taboo1968]

[ QUOTE ]
I want to add, that a big Well Done should go to all of those involved in Operation Esther, The Charities, and everyone who helped raise the profile of this case.
I'm almost certain that without your persistent hard work and dedication, this case would have been treated as "just another neglect case" and this sentence would never have been reached.
Well Done and Thank you - you are a credit to the horse world
xx

[/ QUOTE ]

Thank you

 

[EstherSupporter]

The safe future of the rescued horses & donkeys is now secure, they can now live the rest of their lives in safety and will not be returned to the evil scum family, hopefully this is a turning point for the future in the welfare of all equines and animals who still need our help.

 

[Maesfen]

Does that ban include his family and his premises otherwise it's just a daft idea to think he'll give up completely? Although I agree, it's a lot better than hoped if you look at past results.

 

[Taboo1968]

Family members have a ten yr ban with no option to appeal for five years.....

 

[Maesfen]

Thank you; good result then and full marks to the prosecuting team and anyone else involved in getting to this point.

 

[SnowPhony]

I'm glad he got the maximum sentence he could have got, however, I think the sentencing for animal cruelty and neglect needs seriously looking at because quite frankly, it isn 't long enough.

I'm also concerned that members of his family also involved in the case will end up buying horses in the future....

 

[henryhorn]

Do you know what I reckon is going to be the best punishment for him being unable to have horses around him or own any.
He can moan about paying the fine and losing his animals, but to a horse dealer who has likely spent his entire life round the rings with dealers etc, being banned from owning will hurt the most.
I think a good outcome especially if he never gets his horses back...

 

[scotty77]

I'm sure some of those "nice boys" in prison will make him feel WELCOME !! He will come out walking a different way, if you get my meaning. NOW, that will be punishment. LOL

 

[Taboo1968]

Saddle sore brings a whole new meaning!!!! ROFL!!!

 

[pinkcatkin]

I wonder how this has gone down with all the people who defended him on the earlier threads last year.


I hope they are still banging on about there being no proof, and that how could he be proved as being the guilty party when he may have got the horses in that condition.

May he rot in hell, may it really gall him to be banned from keeping horses, may his family be ostracised by one and all. Hopelessly short sentence but hope the heavy costs of the case reduce him to short rations, just like he kept his horses on.

 

[AmyMay]

I am absolutely thrilled at the sentence. The maximum awardable and a massive fine.

Well done prosecution team and the judge.

 

[shokkyy]

I believe in the US they can hand out the custodial sentence for each count of animal cruelty, i.e. per horse. Such a pity they don't seem to be able to do that here.

 

[suzysparkle]

The US are way ahead of us in what they are allowed to do. I've watched the documentaries on Sky and they even carry handcuffs. The maximum sentence here is a joke. It's proven that people who cause uneccessary suffering to animals frequently go on to do the same to humans. I just hope he doesn't come out and turn his hand to puppy farming or similar. The RSPCA and SSPCA I think should have more power to act and the sentencing allowed should be a lot tougher. Especially for deliberate cases.

 

[kit279]

THat is excellent - the prison sentence is likely to be fairly meaningless but at least the judge fined him enough that he is unlikely to be able to pay it without having to sell the farm and therefore will have nowhere to trade horses out of in the event of him flouting the ban.

 

[willhegofirst]

So where is Patty now one asks!! Nice to see justice has been done as far as it can, twentyfour weeks although maximum sentance really dosen't seem long enough, tho £400,000 is going to hurt I would have thought..

 

[nijinsky]

I actually never believed JG would get a prison sentence so am thrilled to hear he has, 6 months is better than nothing. I'm sure the fines between the whole family will hurt them more.

Hopefully no equines will ever have to cross their paths again but can't say I'm confident in that. Yes a lot of people will know of him & the case but do the type of people he gets his horses from really care who they pass their horses on to?

Great result though.

 

[JM07]

QR.....

If he delares himself bankrupt, then he wont have to pay jackshite....

 

[nijinsky]

Can he declare himself bankrupt being the owner of a property, could he be forced to sell?

 

[JM07]

[ QUOTE ]
Can he declare himself bankrupt being the owner of a property, could he be forced to sell?

[/ QUOTE ]

It would depend who, on paper, actually owns the property.....

 

[bailey14]

I think the sentence James Gray has received is a joke. It equates to not even a week in prison for every poor animal that died a horrible and dreadful death at his hands. The law is an ass and so long as we let people off with ridiculously small sentences animal cruelty will continue to thrive. Some of those poor horses that survived are scarred for life as are the first RSPCA officers who arrived on site that day. Disgusting, sentences like this do not make me proud to be british, they make me thoroughly ashamed of my country and the judges that serve us.

 

[competitiondiva]

As much as the sentance in alot of people minds isn't enough, It is the maximum that the judge could award so on that account I'm proud of the judge and prosecution team to get the case to court and get the right outcome. Congrats to all involved. I'm actually amazed at the fine, I wasn't expecting half that although it has actually I believe cost the rspca £850,000 to bring the case, and care for the animals over the past 18 months or so, but hey any money back will help! But like someone else on here mentioned I'd be sceptical as to whether he squirms his way out of paying it one way or another!

 

[Daffodil]

Well done to the Judge involved in this to award the maximum sentence he could under law. Like many here I personally feel it is not nearly enough for this wicked man and his vile family but it's a lot more than I dared hope for.

I just hope and pray that the sentences given are actually what they all get.