Wetumpka, Alabama – Outrage and disbelief is spreading among people from across the nation about a judge’s decision to find two senior women, who were helping to remedy the feral cat problem in Wetumpka, guilty of four criminal charges. Mary Alston, 61, and Beverly Roberts, 85, were arrested this summer for their efforts to feed, and alter, feral cats in the Alabama town.
The entire case has been mind-boggling. The women were feeding and altering the homeless cats with their own funds – they were providing a service to the town and saving residents tax dollars. As a thank you for their efforts, they were arrested by four police officers, allegedly by the directive of the town’s mayor.
The women were arrested on June 25 – on public property. There are no laws against feeding cats, and it is not possible to trespass on public property. Despite these facts, a judge found them guilty, sentencing them to two years of unsupervised probation, $100 fines, in addition to court fees. The women were sentenced to 10 days in jail, but that time was suspended.
The guilty verdict has left 85-year-old Beverly Roberts so distraught that she cannot eat, or even get out of bed, reports Inside Edition.
The attorneys for the women are appealing the verdict and a petition supporting them has garnered nearly 20,000 signatures (click here to read more).
Watch a video commentary about this bizarre case below.
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