A federal appeals court has ruled that videos of a Houston couple torturing and maiming animals for the sexual gratification of viewers is not free speech.
The ruling on Friday by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns a lower court ruling. Federal criminal charges have been reinstated against 23-year-old Ashley Richards and 52-year-old Brent Justice.
The Houston Chronicle reports the pair are the first to be prosecuted under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010. These videos cater to people who get sexual gratification from watching animals being tortured.
In this case, Richards is scantily clad in the videos and can be seen stabbing and cutting the limbs off animals. In one video seized by police, Richards is seen puncturing a cat's eye with a shoe heel.
Copyright The Associated Press
