DANSVILLE – Social media was wildly outraged when Emmitt, a four-year-old German Shepherd, was shot dead after apparently escaping from an eight-foot fence and approaching a neighbor, Todd Hall. However, the circumstances of Emmitt’s death are far from cut and dry, and court officials say the case is now set to appear before a Grand Jury, which will decide if criminal charges are appropriate, or if this was an unfortunate case of self-defense.
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A Grand Jury consisting of 16 to 23 Livingston County residents will review all evidence against Hall, and their decision on whether the evidence definitively implicates him will determine whether District Attorney Greg McCaffrey is legally able to file criminal charges.
A petition page and corresponding Facebook page set up by Rochester animal rights advocates still calls for Hall’s prosecution. As of Monday, the petition had more than 2,300 signatures supporting the decision to indict Hall. Dakota Hale posted a Youtube video to the Facebook page on Friday, a slideshow of photos showing Emmitt as a puppy, and calling out to locals to be a voice for Emmitt.
It is important that Hall’s case gets finally and fairly judged. If the Grand Jury finds that the case is strong against him, due process demands that he be charged with a crime. However, if the evidence does not hold up in Grand Jury, it it is equally critical that Hall have his name cleared.
Photo Credit: Facebook.