VAIDEN, Miss. (Aug. 1, 2023) — In Defense of Animals, which operates Hope Animal Sanctuary and the Justice for Animals campaign in Carroll and Montgomery Counties respectively, is astounded at the Carroll County Justice Court ruling that the young man who vengefully murdered his little brother and his dog is incompetent to stand trial.

On July 9, 2022, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and the Vaiden Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of a fire at the Court Street Apartments. Neighbors informed the responders that Thomas Perry III and his six-year-old brother, Orlando “King” Pittman were in the apartment before the fire. Responders put out the fire and searched the apartment.

To the astonishment of the deputies, little Orlando’s body was found stuffed in a closet with stab wounds. Orlando’s dog had also been stabbed to death. Perry was arrested the next morning as he walked on a local road.

The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department charged Perry with first-degree murder and aggravated cruelty to a dog under the Mississippi Dog and Cat Pet Protection Law.

Judge Tinesha Erve-Earnest set Perry’s bonds at $1.2 million, $1 million for first-degree murder, and $100,000 each for aggravated animal cruelty and arson. Perry remains in the Carroll/Montgomery Regional Correctional Facility. His bond for the charge of domestic violence-simple assault was revoked and he was ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation.

On July 10, a competency hearing was held and mental competency evaluation was enough for him to be declared unfit for trial. 

Under Mississippi law, a defendant determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial is committed to a state mental health facility until they regain their sanity, and prove to not be a threat to themselves or others. The fact is that an individual with the propensity to commit such violence is too often released unwell and can go on to harm again.

Orlando “King” Pittman was the innocent victim in a sickening dysfunctional family feud. He deserved justice under the law, as do his neighbors who were put at risk.

“I have been haunted by the face of little Orlando, pleading for his life. I know of multiple cases where mentally ill individuals in our region were released from the Whitfield Mississippi state hospital, a program of the Department of Mental Health as unwell as when they entered. Two of those people were brought back to their town and released. Their stories are tragic testimonies to the understaffed and underfunded mental health facilities that are inept and protecting the public and individuals they release,” said In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animal Senior Campaigner Doll Stanley.

In Defense of Animals has served in Mississippi for 30 years. Our Justice for Animals Campaign serves to educate and assist law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges in areas of animal law and cruelty investigation, in addition to connecting them with the resources to aid with or prevent cruelty cases. 

Contact: Doll Stanley, doll@idausa.org, (662) 809-4483 

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization with over 250,000 supporters and a 40-year history of protecting animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats through education, campaigns, and hands-on rescue facilities in India, South Korea, and rural Mississippi. www.idausa.org

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