Punxsutawney Phil charged with 'misrepresentation of spring' in Ohio

Facing death in Ohio?

When a fat rodent falsely raises the hopes of millions of Americans, a price must be paid.

At least that's the tounge-in-cheek theory of Butler County, Ohio County Prosecutor Michael T. Gmoser, who, according to the AP, today indicted Punxsutawney Phil with "purposely, and with prior calculation and design, [causing] the people to believe that spring would come early," a "crime" amounting to a felony "against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio." (It's apparently been cold there, too.)

Gmoser is demanding the death penalty for Phil.

In their linked article, Amanda Lee Myers and Mark Scolforo attempt to excuse their failure to obtain a statement from the accused by noting that Punxsutawney Phil's phone number is unlisted. They did note, however, that "Bill Deeley, president of the Punxsutawney club that organizes Groundhog Day, said Phil has a lawyer and would fight any extradition attempt by Ohio authorities."

Myers and Scolforo also note that Gmoser seems to have given a prosecutorial pass to "Ohio's own forecasting groundhog, Buckeye Chuck." (If our local newspapers reported any groundhog observations from Brookfield or Lincoln Park Zoos this year they were too embarrassed to allow the stories to be archived on Lexis.)

Meanwhile, Fake Science provides an alternate suggested punishment for Punxsutawney Phil. On second thought, Mr. Gmoser's recommendation may be more humane....