Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 24

4 Section 1 Chicago Tribune, Saturday, February If, 1990 Nationworld Judge hands out prison sentence to man whose dog killed boy Knight-Ridder Newspapers SAN JOSE, Calif. A judge Friday sentenced a man whose dog killed a boy to state prison for 3 years and 8 months, saying he wants to send a message to the owners of vicious pit bulls. The sentencing of Michael Patrick Berry all but ends the highly publicized case that began June 13, 1987, when Berry's dog, Willy, savagely mauled and killed a neighbor child. James Soto, 2lh, was killed after he wandered within reach of the animal near his Morgan Hill home. "The court has got to have a message go out that these things cannot happen again," said Judge John Flaherty of Santa Clara County Superior Court.

"People who have pit bulls and use them to guard marijuana plants they've got to know that if they act recklessly and illegally, the court has got to come down on them." Flaherty then sentenced Berry, 40, to prison, rejecting a last-minute plea for leniency. "This has been a tragic accident," Berry told the judge before sentencing. "It's been a living nightmare for me for 2 lh years. When I saw the kids around the dogs, I had no idea there was any danger at all involved. If I had, I would not have done that." Berry's lawyer, Philip Pen-nypacker, said: "In my estimation, Mr.

Berry does not have a malicious bone in his body. No matter what is ordered, we can't bring James Soto back. I think it would be a horrible tragedy to put this man in state prison." After the sentencing, Berry was handcuffed and taken to jail by sheriffs deputies. The case gained national attention when prosecutors charged Berry with second-degree murder because the dog had been bred and trained to fight in organized, illegal dog fights. It was the first time in the U.S.

such a charge was filed against the owner of a pit bulldog as a result of the actions of the animal. A jury in December acquitted Berry of murder but found him The jury also found Berry guilty of charges of cultivating marijuana, keeping a mischievous animal that killed and keeping a fighting dog. The first two are felonies and the last a misdemeanor. The maximum sentence is four years and eight months, but the judge agreed with a probation office recommendation for the lesser penalty and noted that "Berry is not the worst person in the world." In the past, Berry has com that was sweeping the country at the time of the boy's death. Besides Willy, Berry also owned two other pit bulls.

All three dogs are in the custody of the Santa Clara Valley Humane Society, where officials have been awaiting the end of the case to take action. Pennypacker said that he is sure of the fate of at least one of the dogs. "Willy is history," he said after Berry was sentenced. "But we're going to try to save the other two guilty of involuntary manslaugh plained that he was made a scapegoat for the hysteria over pit bulls guilty oi involuntary mansiaugn- piainea mat ne was maae a scape- going to try to save me umcr two ter. goat for the hysteria over pit bulls dogs." Study: Teen pregnancy not all bad Girls' babies and incomes are healthier, researcher says than their childless classmates.

"Simply altering the fertility patterns will not guarantee social and economic well-being for young mothers," said the researchers, Dawn Upchurch of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and James McCarthy of Columbia University in New York. Geronimus bases her findings on health statistics and on anthropological investigations of poor rural and urban communities. She said she has conducted extensive interviews with poor women in a rural area in North Carolina and in Boston's inner city. Geronimus has shown that the health of poor black women deteriorates much more rapidly than that of middle-class women. By the time poor women reach their 20s, they may be in menial, stressful jobs that adversely affect their health.

They are also more likely to smoke and consume alcohol, both of which are hazardous during pregnancy. She thinks the same is probably true for poor white women, but she said those studies have not been done. cared for by other family members. The elevated death rate for children of poor black mothers would become even higher if the women were encouraged to delay childbirth. Geronimus presented her findings Friday at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"I would like to go on record today in opposition to the view that teen childbearing is self-destructive, irrational or anti-social behavior," Geronimus said. The Children's Defense Fund, a research and advocacy organization in Washington, campaigns actively to reduce the teenage pregnancy rate. "If a 15- or 16-year-old becomes pregnant, there's no way that's a smart thing," said the organization's Ray O'Brian. Teenage pregnancy and motherhood lock poor women into poverty and poor academic performance, he said. "However dramatic or heartfelt these concerns, their scientific basis is questionable," Geronimus said.

In a separate study, researchers reported that teen mothers were no more likely to drop out of school NEW ORLEANS (AP) Poor girls who become teenage mothers improve their economic outlook and increase their chances of having a healthy baby, a researcher said Friday. The findings challenge the widely held belief that teenage pregnancy and motherhood are among the most serious problems facing the poor, said the researcher, Arline Geronimus of the University of Michigan. "I think women in poverty know what they're doing," she said in an interview. "There are social realities in the poor that those of us doing research are unaware of." Among her findings: Infants in poverty-stricken communities are healthier if their mothers are in their teens rather than their 20s, because poor mothers are healthier when they are younger. Teenage mothers form alliances with the fathers' families, even if they are not married, that improve the mothers' economic positions.

Teenage mothers are free to earn a living in their 20s, because their children are old enough to be Reuters photo Jump goes awry A West German parachutist dangles from a plane during a training jump. He was trapped outside the over Norway Thursday after becoming entangled plane for 21 minutes but was not seriously hurt. Woman who fought to save leg dies PUBLIC NOTICE! tors said she would probably die without the surgery. But the case was dropped when a geriatric specialist testified that Mrs. Trabelsi understood the possible consequences of her decision.

Mrs. Trabelsi finally consented to the operation at the urging of Mordechai Eliahu, one of Israel's leading rabbis. Her granddaughter said that Mrs. Trabelsi was being buried Friday with the amputated limb in accordance with Jewish dren, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren were at her bedside when she died. "She so much wanted to die with her leg.

Maybe she lost her will to live without it," she said. Mrs. Trabelsi's leg became infected last month as a result of circulatory problems and blood-clotting, but she refused to consent to the amputation because she wanted "to enter the Garden of Eden on both feet." The Israeli government took Mrs. Trabelsi to court when doc NEW ANTIQUES is having a great PRESIDENTS' DAY "OAK" SALE. Sale to be conducted Friday, Saturday and Sunday This is a BLOWOUT Oak Furniture Sale! We have J)i Cullfi IpHI OAK ENTERTAINMENT CENTERS FIFTY STYLES GLASS DOORS TAPE STORAGE ADJUSTABLE SHELVES PULL OUT SHELVES ON SALE FROM unmatched prices, qualtiy and huge selection! bnop anyone, UNBEATABLE DEAL! Chairs, tables, roll tops, curios, hutch and buffets, entertainment centers.

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