[rdhdleo]

Originally Posted by livefree

I stand by what I said. People are stupid to have a python as a pet:

"The snake attack in the rural community of Oxford, about 60 miles northwest of Orlando, was believed to be the state's first instance of a non-venomous constrictor killing a child. The criminal case, likely to be tried this year, revolves around reckless behavior of the child's caregivers, Assistant State Attorney Pete Magrino said.

"It was a tragic loss of a young life as a result of the criminal negligence and child abuse on the part of two adults. It's that simple," he said. "I don't take prosecuting parents lightly."

Shaianna's mother, Jaren Hare, 21, and Hare's boyfriend, Jason Darnell, 33, face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter or third-degree murder. They also are charged with child abuse and have pleaded not guilty.

The albino python, bought at a flea market about six years ago for $200, slithered through the doublewide trailer to the child's room after escaping from a mesh laundry bag with a baseball-sized hole in it.

Read more here: Snake that killed Florida child hadn't been fed in a month | National | McClatchy DC

"August 24, 2011|By Stephen Hudak, ORLANDO SENTINEL

BUSHNELL — A reptile-loving couple convicted of manslaughter for failing to protect a toddler from their pet python was sentenced today to 12 years in prison, but their lawyers believe jurors in the case were influenced by the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial.

"Circuit Judge William "Bud" Hallman, who imposed the sentence on the couple, said he mulled over defense arguments that the tragedy could have happened to anyone who keeps a big dog, a horse or other large animal.

"Horses eat grass, they eat oats — that's different from a wild animal that unfortunately, based on the testimony, eats small mammals," he said. "The child was a small mammal, which is on the menu for a wild animal, which a snake is."

The judge compared keeping the python to keeping an alligator in the house."

Killer python: Jaren Hare and Charles "Jason" Darnell are to be sentenced in killer python case - Orlando Sentinel