Mow Your Lawn Or Go To Jail
From the stupid law files — Canton, Ohio passed a law this week in which residents who are ticketed a second time for having lawn that is too high can be fined up to $250 dollars and be sentenced to a maximum of 30 days in jail. City officials previously passed a law which made a first high-grass violation a misdemeanor subject to a $150 dollar fine, but no jail time. However, apparently that wasn’t as effective as hoped. Canton Mayor William J. Healy II said of the new law, “This is the type of action we need to take in order to clean up our neighborhoods and our city.”
While I agree that long grass in neighborhood yards can be unsightly and frustrating, sending someone to jail for not cutting their grass is just silly. While we laugh at this silly law, lets bring the whole thing into perspective.
In Wayne County, New York a man accused of drunken driving following a hit and run crash that killed a teen was indicted by a Grand Jury. Now, bear with me here because right now you’re probably saying this is a good thing. But, here’s the twist in the story. The guy fled the scene of the fatal accident and then later turned himself in. That means, he’s already admitted guilt. But after the indictment was handed up, he pled NOT guilty in court. This is where the law is even more silly! He already admitted to hitting and killing the teen on the bike. How can the judicial system allow this guy to enter a NOT guilty plea? It just doesn’t make sense.
But wait…there’s more…
Not only did Anibal Fontanez hit and kill the teen — not only did he flee the scene of the accident — but he was also drunk. His blood alcohol content was twice the legal limit. And if that’s not enough, this is not the first time he’s been arrested for DWI. As a matter of fact, he’s been convicted of DWI on three prior occasions. This raises a number of questions. What in the world was he doing driving? Or better yet, why is out of jail in the first place? As a result of a defective legal system a man with a drinking problem and a total disregard for the law, took the life of a teen who was just one month away from his 18th birthday.
Suddenly the idea of tossing someone in jail for not cutting their grass seems even more silly.
Just my two cents,
Dr. Rus
Actually they’ve been throwing folks in jail all over the country (for not paying fines due to not mowing grass) for years. This might just be a more streamlined method.
the teenager killed in the accident was my boyfriends cousin and we all miss him so much!
[...] What is it with Ohio and mowing? Canton, Ohio passed a law [June 2008] in which residents who are ticketed a second time for having lawn that is too high can be fined up to $250 dollars and be sentenced to a maximum of 30 days in jail. – jm2c [...]
I think the more ridiculous issue is no one seems to define how tall is too tall or how often it must be mow. Also we have all seen area around industrial and downtown with 5ft high weeds.