MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2007 Regular Session
To: Judiciary B
By: Representative Banks
AN ACT TO CREATE A FELONY OFFENSE FOR REMOVING GRAVE MARKERS; TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 97-17-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. It shall be a felony to remove any military marker, bronze vase, marker, memorial, statue or plaque from any grave. A violation of this section shall be punishable by imprisonment for up to ten (10) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections and a person convicted under this section shall be liable for all damages to such markers.
SECTION 2. Section 97-17-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
97-17-39. Except as provided in Section 1 of this act, if any person, by any means whatever, shall willfully or mischievously injure or destroy any of the burial vaults, urns, memorials, vases, foundations, bases or other similar items in a cemetery, or injure or destroy any of the work, materials, or furniture of any courthouse or jail, or other public building, or schoolhouse or church, or deface any of the walls or other parts thereof, or shall write, or make any drawings or
character, or do any other act, either on or in said building or the walls thereof, or shall deface or injure the trees, fences, pavements, or soil, on the grounds belonging thereto, or an ornamental or shade tree on any public road or street leading thereto, such person, upon conviction, for such offense, shall be punished as follows:
(a) If the damage caused by the destruction or defacement of such property has a value of less than Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00), any person who is convicted of such offense shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one (1) year, or both.
(b) If the damage caused by the destruction or defacement of such property has a value equal to or exceeding Three Hundred Dollars ($300.00), any person who is convicted of such offense shall be fined not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or be imprisoned in the State Penitentiary for up to five (5) years, or both.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2007.