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Steven Sadler and Boots Stanley have become synonymous with the word "sadistic" since their arrest in August of 2016. The men, both of Arkansas, played a twisted and ultimately lethal game with a gentle pit bull dog later named "Justice" by advocates calling for the prosecution of the dog's slayers. The vile crime took place at a "kill barn" where horses are sold to be destined for slaughter in Mexico, since the practice has been banned in the U.S.

Steven Sadler first put a rope around the dog's neck and then placed Justice on the back of a horse who he made tread on loose timbers in an attempt to cause Justice to slide off the horse and then be kicked to death. Justice tried to hold on, but dropped to the ground. Sadler then straddled Justice, holding the collar and the noose of the rope. He then pulled out his knife and began raking it across his docile victim’s throat. When the knife didn't cut, Boots Stanley cold-heartedly instructed Sadler to cut deeper. Sadler did until the blood began to flow from their unsuspecting victim’s neck. Poor Justice never resisted.

The men posted their macabre dog-slaying game on Snapchat. A brave woman intercepted the video and shared it widely on Facebook leading to the arrest of this despicable duo on August 25, 2016, with the cooperation of the Ashley County Sheriff's Department, Morehead Parish Sheriff's Department and the Hamburg Police Department. The pair were charged with Class B Felony, a count for aggravated cruelty to an animal and a count for conspiracy to commit a crime. The dog's body was never located, and a guardian never came forward, so the details of who this dog was are unknown, including the gender of the dog.

The two men have had an arraignment and a hearing at which their defense was based on the absurd claim that because Bastrop, Louisiana has a "dangerous dog ordinance" the two were within their rights to kill Justice because the dog was at large without a guardian and was not muzzled.

Their defense is preposterous, and so disgraceful that everyone should be horrified by the extent that Sadler and Stanley’s defense has gone to twist the American justice system. If these two violently sadistic sociopaths are freed on such a plea, this case could set precedent for every abuser to employ defenses that return us to a time when victims were accused of “asking for what they got.” By implication, child victims to a pedophile could be held responsible for smiling at the humans who violated them, or even blamed for causing the assault by being available.

It is a disgrace that 4th District Court Judge Carl Sharp did not admonish the defense for this ploy. Let Judge Sharp and District Attorney Steven Tew know that allowing this defense is a mockery of common decency. Demand justice to be served!

What YOU Can Do:

1) Please call Morehouse, Louisiana 4th District Judge Carl Sharp. If you do not get the Judge, please leave a polite message for him with the court clerk.

(318) 281-0863

Politely tell him that you expect to see Steven Sadler and Boots Stanley convicted of the macabre slaying of the dog we now call Justice. Say that the Snapchat video of Sadler and Stanley toying with this docile dog before mercilessly slitting Justice's throat while videoing their sadism, and then delighting in posting it, is not only a deplorable act, it is felonious. To allow a plea that claims that these two sociopaths had the right to sadistically kill this dog for being an unattended pit bull, off leash, and without a muzzle is absurd, and that you will be watching for a guilty verdict and maximum sentencing in this case.

2) Please sign our letter, by filling out the form on the right-hand side of this page, to Morehouse, Louisiana 4th District Attorney Steven Tew.