Cruelty - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

Cruelty is any act of inflicting unnecessary physical or mental pain on living creatures.�

Some common uses of the term �cruelty� in a legal sense include:

• In the context of a ground for fault-based divorce, cases such as this one from Texas explain the meaning of cruelty as �the willful, persistent infliction of unnecessary suffering, whether in realization or apprehension, whether of mind or body, to such an extent as to render cohabitation dangerous and unendurable.� Since most states now have some version of no-fault divorce, cruelty is rarely used as a ground for divorce.
• Cruelty to animals generally means a�malicious�or�criminally�negligent�act�that causes an animal pain,�suffering, or death.
• Cruelty to children, also called child abuse, is the willful infliction of pain and suffering on children through physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment or neglect.