We have previously discussed the criminalization of every element of American society. A new case in Lenoir City, Tennessee is the latest such example. Like many Americans, Karen Holloway has failed to keep her yard work up. Few Americans however have ended up in jail like Holloway after her failure to maintain her yard was turned into a criminal matter. It appears the above garden would be more in line with those wishing to avoid time in the slammer for their overgrown yards.
I have long been a critic of the criminalization of America where millions of citizens are finding themselves labeled as felons for acts that used to be treated as strictly civil matters. The trend toward criminalization feeds itself as politicians insist that their pet peeve (from feeding pigeons to missing parent-teacher meetings) are no less important than other crimes. The result is that everything is being translated into a criminal offense.
Karen Holloway was cited by Lenoir City officials for not keeping up her yard.
Holloway stated that she was sent a citation over the summer, but with her husband going to school and both working with only one vehicle (and two kids at home), she let the yard work slide. It is not clear why she was jailed rather than her husband or both owners.
She was given a five day jail sentence by Judge Terry Vann. She said that she was never told that she could have a lawyer or read her rights. Vann however insisted on jail time, though it was reduced to six hours. Vann suggested he might add on more jail time if the city isn’t satisfied with the yard work.
Source: Local 8
The Lenoir City police, Lawn Division, has a long history, dating back to the founding of the city in 1907 by the effete horticulturis William Lenoir.
From its first days, Lenoir City has used criminal penalties to enforce beautiful lawns.
In 1935, during the Depression, widow Molly Canfield sat outside chained in the stocks downtown for 2 weeks when her rose bushes failed to flower.
In 1971, Darryl Windom was shot dead by the Chief of Police for planting a hideous day lily.
Things have lightened up a bit over time, with jail time being the prefered method of lawn enforcement.
It’s nice to know that over time they have lightened up. Who was that serial killer who was famous or infamous for measuring the length of the lawns in his town? Should we take a lesson?
Nick:
I am not an anarchist either, and there should be standards by which people can gauge what is safe or not.
But, the *look* of a yard? That goes directly into freedom of expression, and personal ownership rights.
Certainly, if the yard was a public health hazard, or other kind of articulable danger to others, then an argument could be made for official intervention, and even then they should have to prove that it actually is a danger or hazard. If it isn’t an actual danger then the state has no right to tell her to do otherwise.
That is why there are private communities, where people actually voluntarily agree to these provisional standards in order to live there.
What kind of a trial did this lady get anyway? When facing jail time she should be guaranteed a lawyer as well.
The CEO of the bank which owns the note on the property is the one who really should have gone to jail over this.
Aridog, That is an eclectic neighborhood, and a great one!
Pogo, Great comment!
Tyger Gilbert said …
If her neighbors, or anyone else in town, including the city officials and the judge in her case, objected to how she was (not) maintaining the appearance of her home, why didn’t they just grab their own lawn mowers and hedge trimmers and go over to her place and offer to take care of it themselves instead of handing her a citation and then a fine and required jail time?
Of course, about 50 years ago that was how things like this were handled. IN those days we had “neighborhoods.” We knew each other. These days they are still handled this way where I live, except that the city hires the folks to clean up your yard if necessary (as Carol8 suggests)…starting with if your grass is over 6 inches high. There are no criminal charges, and if you pile up a bunch of liens when you go to sell you need to settle each and every one. Mainly, the city folks get the neighborhood appearances they want without silly criminal stuff involved.
A few of old timers in my neighborhood will notice if someone is struggling and offer to help…and yes, we’ll be delighted with pierogi, cannelloni, shawarma, or home made humus would a nice tip….but not necessary. Neighborhood is old Polish, Italian, and Arabic.
According to City-data.com, LENOIR CITY, Tennessee (near Knoxville):
Population in 2012: 8,878 (99% urban, 1% rural).
Population change since 2000: +30.2%
Median resident age: 33.2 years
Estimated median household income in 2012: $30,334
RACE
White alone – 7,475 (87.7%)
Hispanic – 692 (8.1%)
Two or more races – 202 (2.4%)
Black alone – 111 (1.3%)
Lenoir City has a crime rate that was
511.4 (in 2008)
551.0 (in 2009)
569.8 (in 2010)
431.4 (in 2011)
439.7 (in 2012)
(“City-data.com crime rate counts serious crimes and violent crime more heavily. It adjusts for the number of visitors and daily workers commuting into cities.”
A higher crime rate means more crime, U.S. average = 298.9)
Lenoir City ain’t rich. And it ain’t crime-free, being worse than average in the US, despite being such a small town.
Seems like the cops in Lenoir City have more important work than criminalizing yard work.
Did they send a SWAT team?
Social and economic objectives are better achieved by voluntary action than
by coercion of law.
Gary, We are libertarian brothers. That said, there have to be some standards. in a perfect world the social contract should make people respect their neighbors. But, as we know, the social contract is eroding daily. So, what has replaced the social contract is the lawyerization of our culture. They prey and incite conflict, so they can then become the arbiters. We agree, this was horseshit. But, I’m not libertarian enough to say there shouldn’t be some standards. But, going back to the good ol’ days when we respected our neighbors. Those days also included the neighbors helping out a neighbor who is in need. I would shovel snow, mow lawns, etc. when I was a kid. We had an elderly Polish woman who lived next door. My old man told me she was on a fixed income and I should not take money from her. But, my wise father told me, ask her for some of her homemade pierogi, that will make her feel like it’s not charity. And, they were DAMN good pierogi! I learned so much from my dad.
I’m in agreement with mespo. It seems hard to believe that she got put in jail without some sort of escalating going on. Hell, I can’t even get my neighbors arrested for smoking dope and God knows what else they do.
City should mow then lawn, then file a lien. Makes more sense than jail.
The private prisons of Dick “The Chain Man” Cheney must be booming.
“What economic problems?”
Conservatives do not write laws like this. Only Progressives want to control your lawn.
That Podunk town probably has a lawn out in front of City Hall. An appropriate place for retaliation would be that lawn. But, then there is the Mayor’s own home, the City Attorney’s home and the Judge’s home and lawn. Dogs in that town need to take note of this affair and go give some guidance to these dumb people. Take a dog laxative so that the turds are not easy to pick up and go dump in dumbos’ yards. I would bet that the fire hydrants are not all painted up to code. Paint them for the city. Green, the color of the yards would be good. There are probably holes in the roads. Put some nails in those holes on the streets near City Hall. The sign at the edge of town announcing the town should be shot up with shotguns. Get a drone and fly over and flush.
Words are insufficient.
This is not a situation where there needs to be compassion for the lady who was jailed for a badly Feng Shui’d yard, this a situation where there is no right for govt entity to demand it in the first place.
WTF is the standard bearer on what a properly coiffed yard is supposed to look like? One person’s unkempt yard is another person’s natural slice of nature, or whatever they want it to LOOK like. There shouldn’t even a civil offense here. It really is a first Amendment issue.
Next they will tell us what kind of interior decorating is required, they are that close to it, however laughable it is.
Firstly, we all hate those ubiquitous commercials we are required to watch if we want to watch a news clip. Well, during my first cup of coffee, watching this news story, I was greeted by Dolly Parton’s hooters! The grotesque cosmetically sculpted face is shocking so I suggest you all just keep your eyes focused a bit lower.
This is horseshit. We have become a culture of victims. The Queen for a Day syndrome for those old enough to remember that 1960’s show. But, from what I can see, and based on this woman’s demeanor, she is a victim of a-hole judge.
What do you call an attorney w/ the IQ of 90?
Your Honor.
What do you call an attorney w/ an IQ of 70?
Senator
If she served her jail time, how can they extend the sentence? My HOA can fine you, but even that they cannot collect. It is a bizarre system. I will not be moving to this town or county.
What type of sick and twisted society cages a human being for not keeping their yard to the arbitrary standards set by Lenoir City, Tennessee, government?
The petty authoritarians operating under the guise of Lenoir City, Tennessee government are still the same know nothings they were before they won the local popularity contest known as an election.
Looks as if the fraction of a human being known as Judge Terry Vann is angling to make an example of Karen Holloway and if her property isn’t found to be neat and tidy as per local cleanliness standards she faces the possibility of more jail time.
Lenoir City woman sent to jail for having a messy yard
By: Steven Powell
Judge Vann set a follow up hearing for November to check up on the progress. He suggested he might add on more jail time if the city isn’t satisfied with the clean-up.
http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Lenoir-City-woman-sentenced-to-jail-for-having-a-messy-yard-279202621.html
Paraphrasing J.C. Marino, author of Dante’s Journey:
Little men serve the letter of the law. Great men serve justice.
Seems excessive to me but I don’t know we have the whole story. Is this a first offense?
Considering the things that are wrong in this country and the budget deficits, I find it hard to believe that anyone would put a person in JAIL for not doing their yard work. But I am not surprised. We have truly lost our way.
By the way who did the judge expect to take care of her children while she was in jail?
Another example of how the human society is moving in the opposite direction of what common sense would indicate it should be. If her neighbors, or anyone else in town, including the city officials and the judge in her case, objected to how she was (not) maintaining the appearance of her home, why didn’t they just grab their own lawn mowers and hedge trimmers and go over to her place and offer to take care of it themselves instead of handing her a citation and then a fine and required jail time? That’s the way problems like this were handled in more sensible days on the frontier, and even not so long ago. People often showed some compassion and caring for others who were experiencing difficulties and pitched in voluntarily to help them out. That’s what being good neighbors was all about.
When a neighbor lady was offended by the appearance of my home a couple decades ago, she complained to the City of Phoenix, who promptly issued me a citation for not having my eaves painted, which was the only thing they could find wrong according to the city housing statutes. I was already paying her husband to mow my lawn and trim the bushes for me. The citation didn’t say who complained, but I figured it was her. To avoid a fine, I promptly picked up a brush and a bucket of white paint that (almost) matched the color of the eaves, climbed a ladder, and started slopping the paint on. She came out and started watching me, and then asked, “Aren’t you going to scrape and sand the pealing old paint off first?” Without even looking at her, I replied, “Nope. The citation says the eaves have to be painted, it doesn’t say the job has to be done right. You want it to be done a certain way, you can come over and do it yourself.” She shut up and went back inside her house.