Source: Multiple
Under the plea agreement, McConnell — who faced 22 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty — is not to own or train horses for 20 years.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Collierville horse trainer who pleaded guilty to 12 counts of animal cruelty has been sentenced to house arrest for a year and fined $25,000.
According to The Commercial Appeal (http://bit.ly/1blvyWE ), Circuit Judge Weber McGraw sentenced Jackie McConnell and two co-defendants on Tuesday. McConnell is also on probation for four years.
McConnell pleaded guilty in federal court last year after the Humane Society of the United States in 2011 secretly filmed video inside a training stable showing caustic substances being applied to Tennessee walking horses‘ legs and hooves, and the animals being beaten to make them stand.
Jeff Dockery, also of Collierville, pleaded guilty to all three counts of animal cruelty and John K. Mays of Holly Springs, Miss., pleaded guilty to four of 14 counts of cruelty.
Dockery was sentenced to three years’ probation and Mays was given four years’ probation.
Under the plea agreement, McConnell — who faced 22 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty — is not to own or train horses for 20 years.
In May, Gov. Bill Haslam vetoed a bill that would require images that document animal abuse be turned over to law enforcement within 48 hours, saying his main concern is its constitutionality.
A number of groups and celebrities have spoken out against the proposal that has been dubbed the “ag gag” bill. They say the measure is designed to prevent whistleblowers from collecting evidence of ongoing patterns of abuse.
Related Articles
- House arrest, fine for disgraced horse trainer (horsetalk.co.nz)
- Tennessee Horse Trainer Guilty Of Abuse (wreg.com)
- Horse trainer Jackie McConnell pleads guilty to animal abuse; avoids jail (Photos) (examiner.com)
Categories: Horse News
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
He and the others need to be beaten and sored!
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This man should be made to stand barefoot in caustic soda up to his knee’s, for three hours every day,, then beated on the feet with sticks, to break the skin, let him feel the pain of those beautiful trusting horse, and who want’s to see horses, walking like this anyway, its disgusting and sick. there are ways to train horses, with kindness, and love and patience, I have been a qualified Brittish riding instructor foe over 35yrs, and have never felt si sick at seeing this, he needs to feel pain, not just a ban, the sicko
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All of these men should have been sent to prison.
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Yes, I agree. And why should they EVER again be legally permitted to get within a mile, much less train, horses? And who says they won’t secretly train horses during that 20-year ban?
The light sentence and light fine and short probation prove that the flagrant, felonious abuse of horses is being tolerated by this judge, and that is a crime in itself, I think.
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Thank goodness this disgusting human being has been caught and sentenced i abhor animal cruelty of any description may i enquire what happened to the poor horses he tortured l also hope that he is monitored to make sure he never gets to own another animal of any description
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This is horrible!!!….He should be in jail for 20years!!..Those poor horses!!!! Actually he should endure the same cruelty as punishment…………..
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Who will follow through to make sure that he does not own or train horses. Personally I think his feet need to be sored. I wish he had been sentenced to 20 years in jail. At least there he could not hurt or beat any more horses. The fines for his colleagues were stupid. They also should have received jail time.
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No one should be allowed to treat another living being this way…may they rot in Hell
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Okay here goes. I talked to HS guy last Sept at the equine conference. Charges and all didn’t quite come through the way they had hoped. So be it.
House is only good if McConnell has to wear an ankle bracelet that will signal if he leaves the house. I don’t believe he can even go outside except for certain times and limits of that time. If he’s on house arrest with no followup there’s nothing to stop him from going where he wants. House arrest only works if they system is in place. And if he blows it off he goes the first time.
Probation is serious. We saw this with Jason Meduna. As long as the judge is tough and basically unforgiving if McConnell blows his probation he’ll go to jail to serve the rest of his 4 years probation. He’s going to be living under a huge cloud for the next several years.
I believe if he blows house arrest he’d serve the rest of his one year behind bars. Would additional time being filed? I don’t know. I don’t know if that would automatically suspend probation–hence the rest of his one year plus those 4 years probation.
Is it enough for what we witnessed? I know this was animal abuse at one of its worse. The video was extremely graphic and very telling. But consider for a moment that even in TN he was sentenced–this is a pretty severe sentence.
If he owns or trains horses in the next 20 some years I don’t know if that’s an automatic jail sentence or if they’d start over again. 20 years in this mans case is probably the rest of his life. I believe he’s seventy something now.
It will never be okay. He hurt horses for no reasons. He’s cause untold pain for no reason. And although heel spurs aren’t the same thing–pain wise I can tell you that this man is horrible. I have heel spurs in BOTH feet. I was so lame, in pain last year when I went to docs. He took x-rays and even I could see these awful hooky things on the bottom of my feet. I was put in boot walkers and put on bed rest for 3 days IMMEDIATELY. I still wear night splints and my boot walkers when my feet are bad.
I wish this man could see what I went through. The pain I was in and the agony. It isn’t the same but maybe he could then have some idea of what he did. It would be a start.
Safe to say one thing. WE all agree he’s a horrible man. What he did was TOTALLY unethical, uncalled for. He showed no compassion or care. He’s a very sick man and needs a serious intervention. In his case it’s probably too late. I wish the judge could have forced him to have to watch that video of his behavior 24 hrs day, that would be his only tv and entertainment.
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I agree to the fullest this person I won’t call him a man is a terrible person and he will be judge by our god. look out satan here comes I hope
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I’m thinking it’s not his feet that need to be “sored”… just sayin’
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Good that action was taken against such cruelty! It’s horrible that something like that ever happened.
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These people should never own or be near horses again in their lifetimes. Yes, the sentencing was light compared to what they did to those poor horses. Where are the horses now?
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McConnell is just the tip of the iceberg. Exum’s violators list clearly shows the depth and scope of these DIRTY LICKERS. While they’re at it, fry/shame/imprison the owners who fund these jerks. The owners who want a blue ribbon on their wall at the expense of their horses are the root of this issue and should carry equal blame. They should all be confined in that house right along with this scumbag watching the video 24/7.
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I knew in my gut that he’d get off easy. I just KNEW it. Has any judge in Tennessee ever handed down a stiff sentence to the scum that sore horses? I don’t think so, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the judges all had their hands in the pockets of the Big Lick money machine. Animal abuse in Tennessee should be a felony, with no plea bargaining. It should be a felony in every state, actually. So, let’s get those laws changed!
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I’m from Virginia. I’ve loved and ridden horses my whole life..my Daddy too, so the love of these animals goes very deep with me. I’d love to take this guy, and all his workers and deliver this “training” in kind to them. Problem is, like the previous post says, it’s the tip of the iceberg. I was a groom for a guy who trained and bred 5 gaited horses. While he never used a stick, he did haul off and smack his horses w/the heel of his gigantic hand. He also did a bit of soring. When I found out what was really going on to achieve all the blue ribbons we won, I quit. I was very young, so I didn’t know to report him. He’s lucky. If I EVER saw anything even remotely close to that happening now, I would call everyone I could think of and press charges…I wish McConnell and his workers had to pay the REAL price for this torture…that’s what it is….torture…filthy scum….What happened to the horses in his charge?
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I was wrong. Evidently, it’s a Class E felony IF it’s done in a “depraved and sadistic manner.” What???
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Whoohoo! Hoof to the heas for him!
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When i worked in walkers in the 90s theywould threaten your life if you told on them, boy am i glad most of us just kept on yappin! Sorta like when cleve wells in aqha got busted, the more they say no onr will believe ya the louder you shout!
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Can he wear an ankle bracelet with nails in it, daily poor gas on it? Cause that was a favorite combo of insidious walkers ooooh trainers, makers my profession sound pathetic to call him a trainer
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Nobody here is looking at the REAL problem! the show standards need to be changed, broken tail bones and high padded feet classes need to go away. As long as the equestrain federation rules and enables these classes to go on, trainers are going to sore, and hurt these horses in order for them to act “showy” if you think that he had cruel ways, remove your blinker folks, he’s the one that got ‘caught’! There are dozens of other trainers out there doing the same thing, cutting their tail bones and resetting them so that the tail goes up and back, keeping it in a brace 24/7, never allowing the horses to lay down. Do you know that these horses NEVER go out! That high stepping/exgagerated motion, no horse goes like that naturally. Sure there are lots of breeds that step high, ei: hackneys pasos but these are born with a high step, man wants them to step even higher!~ so they put chains, sore and burn them, for what?? to get that prized ribbon, at the expense of our loving horses. As long as money is pouring into those shows, it’s going to go on.
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He is one pathetic human being and I’m glad to see “some justice” came out of the horrible cruelty he inflicted on these innocent horses. He should NEVER be allowed to work with horses for the rest of his life!
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Its sure not enough punishment – but I was surprised there was that much!
Its shameful that these so-called humans are so desperate for ribbons or trophys that they would torture these beautiful horses and make freaks out of them.
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The HSUS expresses its thanks to U.S. Attorney William C. “Bill” Killian and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven S. Neff and M. Kent Anderson for pursuing criminal charges for violations of the HPA, and congratulates them on securing guilty pleas, including McConnell’s guilty plea to the charge of felony conspiracy—the most serious of the 52 counts in the federal indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in February. Federal charges are still pending against a fourth individual charged in the case. McConnell and two others also face 31 counts of violating Tennessee’s state animal cruelty statute in a separate matter that is still pending.
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