COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—An El Paso County jury has convicted a former Colorado Springs couple of animal cruelty over treatment of a lamb they planned to sacrifice as part of a religious observance.
Periz Jackson and Elijah Black face up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine after jurors on Tuesday found them guilty of leaving the animal in a locked closet with no water and tethered by a heavy chain.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette ( ), Jackson and Black belong to a religious sect called the Hebrew-Israelites.
Authorities say the pair purchased the sacrificial lamb for $250 from a livestock grower east of Denver in early April. They planned to slaughter and roast the male yearling on Passover in their Colorado Springs apartment.
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Information from: The Gazette,
