PJ Nilaja Patterson, 43, is accused of animal cruelty over killing an iguana. But the 6-foot-3, 165-pound man argues that he was in fear for his life — and that the 3-foot green iguana was the first to resort to violence during their horrific encounter in Lake Worth Beach.
“The vicious animal got the best of Patterson and savagely bit his right arm,” say Patterson’s lawyers. The man went to the hospital and got 22 staples to close the wound caused by the “wild beast.”
Patterson’s tussle with the invasive reptile is thought to be the first time anyone has pursued a stand-your-ground claim over a deadly confrontation with an iguana.
He killed an iguana and got arrested. Now he’s claiming a ‘stand your ground’ defense. (yahoo.com)
You guys know iguanas drop by my backyard fence now and again, enough times that I have give them names and taken plenty of pics. In all my years here in South Florida, I have to admit I have never seen, read or heard of a case of a rampaging iguana attacking anybody or anything other than fruits. So my question is, what did this guy do to piss off the iguana so much it had to defend itself. My experience with iguanas, no matter the size is that they take off if you as so much start to approach them.
And a 3 foot iguana is a baby, specially compared with dear old Orangy
And dear dumb ass, you need to stop reading the papers and watching TV when it comes to the interpretation and use of the law. You and your lawyer made a claim it lasted as much as a fart in a category 5 hurricane and you are the latest ridicule in a long line of Florida men. Enjoy your time in prison, dumbass.
There is no such thing as a “stand your ground defense.” That is media and race nonsense. (Shame on defense attorneys, cops, politicians, prosecutors, and judges who think there is such a defense).
A defendant is not entitled to a pretrial immunity hearing if the charge relates to use of force on an attacking animal.
Defending against an attacking animal does not invoke the legal doctrine of justification (self-defense) or an analysis of deadly vs. nondeadly force. The applicable law is the common law doctrine referred to as “necessity.”
On another note. Not sure the animal cruelty statute was intended to apply to that particular species.
For a read on defending against attacking animals and Florida law, go to page 9, here:
https://www.8jcba.org/resources/Documents/Apr%202021%20Newsletter.pdf.
Maybe it was a rabid iguana, oh wait, only mammals can get rabies. Maybe he couldn’t tell the difference.
Well, I mean he got 22 staples to close his wound – that’s a pretty serious one.
Maybe he was trying to kill it for bbq and the iguana was fighting for its life.
Adult iguanas are herbivores. Apparently, they can be aggressive during mating season, but they telegraph that they don’t want to be messed with in a way that’s pretty darn clear to anyone with an IQ higher than cabbage. They have a strong bite and sharp teeth for shredding leaves. Was he wearing a hibiscus suit? They love hibiscus! My guess is that, at best, he stupidly ignored its “go away vibes” and at worst, provoked it and paid for his cruelty with pain. I’m pretty much on the iguana’s side on this one.
How could anyone possibly be facing jail time for killing an animal that attacked and wounded him? “Stand your ground” is obviously silly here, since we’re talking about an animal, not human.
It may well be that he did something to set off the iguana, but why is that relevant? Again, it’s an animal. If it attacks to wound, it gets killed. That’s all there is to it as far as I can see.
I’m guessing alcohol (or some other pharmaceutical substance) was involved.
I had a pet iguana growing up, probably around 3 feet or so as the one in the article. They can certainly give you a good bite as their teeth are quite sharp, but I don’t know how he’d manage to get an injury requiring staples, much less that many of them. Definitely odd.
Animal cruelty charge for killing a lizard which you’re allowed to snuff at will because it’s non-native, invasive, and destructive?
The story is the government charging someone with something which isn’t a crime, not the absurdity of the person’s claim of defending themselves.
But let’s ignore the anarcho-tyranny to make fun of him.
My money is not ‘this isn’t the whole story’.
Money is ON, I mean. Damn it.