Sen. Angela Hill, who has been instrumental in updating animal protection legislation in Mississippi, introduced Buddy's Law (SB 2261) in response to this horrific case. Buddy's abuser could not be prosecuted because Mississippi law prohibits the prosecution of youth offenders under the age of 13.

However, further issues with this case highlight the need for more avenues to deal with violent youth offenders.

The youth in this case was already previously involved in the fatal shooting of his stepsister before torturing Buddy, and just months after he turned 13, he was charged with capital murder for fatally burning another youth who had befriended him.

Despite pleas from Sen. Hill, the co-authors of Buddy's Law, thousands of phone calls and emails from Mississippians, and over 14,000 signatures on a letter from In Defense of Animals supporting this bill, it was in danger of being withheld from the committee that would move it forward or kill it.

It's just been passed by the Judiciary B Committee and is expected to be voted on quickly by the Senate.

It is imperative that youths who do harm get the mental health evaluation and treatment they need to prevent a life of troubles and incarceration for them and the devastating harm their potential victims would endure. In Defense of Animals and kindred Mississippi organizations are acting to end the cycle of violence that minors and their victims are not currently protected from.

Please thank Lt. Gov. Hosemann for moving Buddy's Law forward and giving it a chance to pass and please also ask Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves to sign it into law.

• Lt. Governor Hosemann
• Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves

In Defense of Animals fully expects and strongly urges all people involved in this campaign to act responsibly and lawfully and to respect the personal interests and privacy rights and concerns of any individuals who may be affected by, or become the subject of, your protests or related efforts.