Welcome to the United States. Go directly to jail.
If you are thinking of moving to Canton, Ohio you better think again. Homeowners in Canton who don’t mow their grass in the northeast Ohio city now face possible jail time. The city council unanimously passed a law that makes a second high-grass violation a fourth-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $250 and a 30 day jail sentence. The previous law only made the first violation a misdemeanor, with a fine but no jail time. According to the city council the law is an effort to reduce the $250,000 the city spends to cut about 2,000 private lots each year and to address public complaints. To quote Mayor William J. Healy II.
This is the type of action we need to take in order to clean up our neighborhoods and our city.
The city council members of Canton as well as the Mayor obviously did not excel in mathematics in school. Instead of making money by fining violators they want to spend money to incarcerate someone. I will bet that it costs at least $250 a day to imprison someone in the city jails of Canton. And if someone is in prison who is going to mow the prisoners yard? Of course the city will have to mow the yard. I find it hard to believe that someone would refuse to mow their yard if they were being fined $250 for repeated violations. I think that not only is jail time totally inappropriate for an offense like this but counterproductive as well.
The U.S. has one of the highest percentages of citizens in jail in the world. There are so many stupid laws on the books from cities like Canton as well as federal and state laws that criminalize almost everything that I find it amazing that anyone could go through life without somehow running afoul of the law. Prison time should only be meted out for serious crimes, and not mowing your yard certainly should not qualify as one. I wonder what the city council of Canton will come up with next? Jail time for a second offense for jaywalking? I hope there is an abundance of good lawyers in Canton because it looks like there will be a big demand for them if the city council has their way.
