Peter Freshour is not a killer #TeamFreshour

Peter was willing to release this picture to us of he and his cat Largo .

Let me start out by saying that this post is in no way meant to offend anyone.  This post has a goal, and its a goal to help people understand that the current issue involving Peter Freshour is being blown completely out of proportion.  Those who disbelieve in this post can simply not read this, and move on.  For those who wish to take the time to read this post, I thank you for taking your time to read it.

For those of you who do not know what has happened, or have heard a biased account of what has happened, here is what happened, quoted by the Facebook page "Peter Freshour is no malicious killer:stop the hate"

"On August 4, Peter Freshour was moving into his Scranton apartment unpacking boxes, and opening them with a knife. He went outside to take out the garbage when a stray cat attacked him and his kitten Largo. After latching onto his leg, the cat would not go away, so Peter stabbed the cat with the knife he held for opening boxes. Being a hunter and outdoors man, Peter saw that the cat was near death

and felt bad seeing it suffer. He walked over to put the cat out of his misery. He even waived to his neighbors as this went on.

When the Patrolman Paul Helring came, Freshour told them everything, and requested the cat be tested for rabies. They denied his request. After going for his rabies shots, he went downtown to the police station again, where his request was denied." 

Viewing this page for the first time, I saw lots of comments and posts from many people who believe what Pete is a "piece of shit" and that "only an idiot would buy the story of a grown man being deathly afraid of a 5lb. cat.", my first reaction was "ok everyone is freaking out a little too much", but after seeing comments of pure hatred and loathing, it has prompted me to write this post in defense of Pete, regardless of how little I know him.

The story that has went around is that a stray cat bit Pete in the leg, as Pete had felt threatened by the stray, he stabbed the cat in self defense, acting on fight or flight instincts, and the cat started to suffer.  If you were in Mr. Freshour's shoes, would you let that cat continue to suffer?  Would YOU let it just go away and suffer for a few more hours before collapsing and dying in agony?  I, for one, would not.  I believe that Pete did the right thing, and gave the stray the easy way out.

But that isn't what everyone believes.

According the Times-Tribune, they say that there were "witness accounts" of Mr. Freshour luring this cat into his yard, stabbing him multiple times, and then dumped the body.

Let me start by saying that because of the way society has evolved, people think that all animals are not harmful, and that they are not aggressive towards human beings. This is false,  strays can carry many diseases, including rabies, which can be harmful to humans.  As such, most of the people who have posted hate on this support page for Pete are women, and we all know that in the case of most women, "cats are adorable creatures" and that it would be a crime against nature to kill one, even in self defense.  You don't know whether or not if that cat had a disease, or if that cat was lured, you are essentially going off a "witness" and that witness cannot tell the story like Peter can.   Peter is the only one who knows the whole story, from beginning to end.  Instead of jumping on him, give him a chance to let him speak for himself.

People I have seen post around various sources of the internet claim that Peter is showing signs of becoming a serial killer and shows a lust for blood, they believe he should rot in jail for the "crime" in which he is being charged with.   The old theory goes that serial killers start killing animals first as practice, and then move onto humans.  I hate to debunk all of you who think that he is a serial killer in training, but that theory is only proven in children aged 5-11, not a full grown 21 year old adult like Pete.  Everyone who is close to Pete argue that he is not that kind of person, and I agree.  Would Pete be the kind of guy who would just lure a family cat into his yard to brutally murder, even though he has a pet cat?  No, I could not see Pete doing that.  As a person who was his Class of 2009 president, had a great social and academic standing, and has a family that is well respected in the community, there is little evidence that he would intentionally murder a cat.  How about Veterinarians who put down animals as part of their career, do we label them as murderers? No we do not.  We do not even think about that because we know it is part of what they do.  But we are going to label Peter Freshour as a blood lusting killer for killing a stray who potentially had rabies in self defense?  That has contradictory and judgemental written all over it.

Stop the hate.

For those of you that post all of these posts about how Peter should be "stabbed several times" or that he is a coward for "killing an innocent cat that was lured to him", every single one of you should be ashamed of yourselves.  You people are partaking in a form of cyber bullying, and with these attacks on Pete, you are accomplishing nothing but making yourselves unintelligent, and you all are blowing the story way out of context, by claiming Pete is a mass murderer and a blood lusting psychopath.  What all have you accomplished?! Have you all thought that just by posting on a page, judging him for an act in self defense, that it will cause Pete to give up his fight to plead his innocence?

The answer is no.

Pete knows what happened, he knows the story.  From what people have told me, Peter Freshour has a strong head on his shoulders.  You people who are giving this message of hate and loathing, you people who believe that a stray cat killed in self defense has more rights then a human being, you crusaders of prejudice and improper judgement, it just gives more fuel to help Peter get through his fight.  I believe that Peter is no killer, I believe that he is an individual of good standing, who is respected by friends and family alike.  I support Team Freshour.

Thank you for your time and patience