AR-News: (OK - US)Tulsa man's 20-yr sentence for killing cat w/hammer and injuring girlfriend

[Snugglezzz at aol.com]

Tulsa World, 6-2-04
"Prison term in assault slashed"  by Bill Braun
To write:  letters at tulsaworld.com (must include full name, telephone#, and should be brief)

A Tulsa county judge cut a 20-yr prison sentence nearly in half Tuesday for a man who pleaded guilty to using a hammer to assault a woman and kill a cat during a burglary.  A prosecutor objected to the modified punishment for Matthew Ray Riley.

District Judge Tom Gillert amended Riley's sentence to 11 years in prison plus 9 yrs probation.

Riley, now 20, pleaded guilty in April 2003 to three felonies - first-degree burglary, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and cruelty to an animal.

Riley broke into an ex-girlfriend's apartment, but she was not home; another woman at the resident became his victim, along with the cat. Riley said he wanted his former girlfriend "to feel the pain" he felt and that "I knew she loved that cat very much," according to a Department of Corrections report prepared a year ago.

He struck the cat in the head with a hammer, killing the cat.

A DOC report submitted for the judicial review recommended that Riley's sentence be modified to 10 yrs in prison, followed by probation.

That report says Riley got "outstanding work evaluations" in an assignment to push carts to deliver food and supplies to inmates, although he received one misconduct citation.

Dr. Terese Hall, a psychologist retained by the defense who evaluated Riley in preparation for sentencing review, reported that "future behavior cannot be predicted with certainty.  However, in light of available information, it does not appear that Matthew Riley poses a serious risk of future violence."