SP0374, LD 1071, item 1, An Act To Increase the Penalties for Vandalizing a Cemetery

An Act To Increase the Penalties for Vandalizing a Cemetery

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §507, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 499, §1, is amended to read:

1. A person is guilty of desecration and defacement if he the person intentionally desecrates any public monument or structure, any place of worship or burial , or any private structure not owned by him the person.

Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §507-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 326, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

1. A person is guilty of interference with a cemetery or burial ground if the person:

A. Intentionally or knowingly destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures or removes any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure or thing placed or designed as a memorial or to protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead, including damaging or destroying vegetation or a plant within an enclosure for the burial of the dead. A violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime;

B. Intentionally or knowingly allows an animal under the person's ownership or control to destroy, mutilate, deface, injure or remove any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure or thing placed or designed as a memorial or to protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead, including damaging or destroying vegetation or a plant within an enclosure for the burial of the dead. A violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime; or

C. Removes a flower, flag, flag holder or memorial token from any grave, tomb, monument or burial lot or owns or controls an animal that destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures or removes any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure or thing placed or designed as a memorial or to protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead, including damaging or destroying vegetation or a plant within an enclosure for the burial of the dead. A violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime.

Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §507-A, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 326, §2, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 17-A MRSA §507-A, sub-§4 is enacted to read:

4. The court shall order restitution under chapter 54 if a violation of subsection 1 results in any damages or pecuniary loss. If possible, damages must be calculated by an appropriate professional conservator. The following may be a claimant under section 1324:

A. The municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located;

B. A cemetery association authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located;

C. A historical society authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located; or

D. The estate, next of kin or lineal descendant of the deceased person whose grave site, burial ground, cemetery, tomb, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure or thing placed or designed as a memorial or to protect a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial, or any fence, railing, curb or other enclosure for the burial of the dead or vegetation or plant was damaged.

Sec. 5. 17-A MRSA §507-B, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 326, §2, is amended to read:

§ 507-B. Illegal possession or sale of gravestones

1. No A person may not possess, sell, attempt to sell, offer for sale, transfer or dispose of any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker or other structure placed or designed as a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial a memorial, knowing or having reasonable cause to know that it has been illegally removed from a cemetery or burial ground. For purposes of this section, "memorial" means any tomb, monument, gravestone, marker, metal plaque, flag, flag holder or veteran's grave marker or other structure placed or designed as a memorial for the dead, or any portion or fragment of any such memorial.

2. Any person who violates subsection 1 commits a Class C crime.

3. Any person who violates subsection 1 is liable to the following for triple damages to be recovered in a civil action:

A. The municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located;

B. A cemetery association authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located; or

C. A historical society authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located . ; or

D. The estate, next of kin or lineal descendant of the deceased whose memorial was illegally removed from the cemetery or burial ground.

A. The municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located;

B. A cemetery association authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located;

C. A historical society authorized to bring suit and recover damages by the municipality or, in the case of unorganized territory, the county in which the cemetery or burial ground is located; or

D. The estate, next of kin or lineal descendant of the deceased person whose memorial was damaged.

Sec. 6. 17-A MRSA §1324, sub-§§3 and 4, as enacted by PL 1977, c. 455, §3, are amended to read:

3. Person providing recovery. Any person, firm, organization, corporation or government entity which that has provided recovery to the victim as a collateral source, but only to the extent that such recovery was actually made; and

4. Person acting on behalf of victim. Any person legally authorized to act on behalf of the victim . ; and

Sec. 7. 17-A MRSA §1324, sub-§5 is enacted to read:

5. Cemeteries and burial grounds. A person authorized as a claimant under section 507-A, subsection 4 or 507-B, subsection 4.

Sec. 8. 17-A MRSA §1325, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 157, §5, is amended to read:

3. Exception. The provisions of subsection 2, paragraph D , do not apply to an offender which that is an organization or to a person who violates the provisions of section 507-A, subsection 4 or section 507-B, subsection 4.

summary

This bill:

1. Amends the laws regarding damaging cemeteries and burial grounds by including damage to metal plaques, flags, flag holders, veteran's grave markers, vegetation and plants and adding damage created by an animal owned by or in the control of a person and by increasing the class of the crime from Class D to Class C;

2. Designates as a Class D crime a person's removing a flower, flag, flag holder or other memorial token from a burial ground without permission to do so or owning or controlling an animal that damages or destroys property in a cemetery or burial ground;

3. Adds metal plaques, flags, flag holders and veteran's grave markers to the crime of illegal possession or sale of gravestones;

4. Amends the restitution provisions in the law by expanding the list of authorized claimants to the crimes of interference with a cemetery or burial ground and illegal possession or sale of gravestones and removes from the consideration of the court the defendant's inability to pay; and

5. Expands the list of claimants who may bring a civil suit with treble damages for the illegal possession or sale of gravestones.

SP0374 LD 1071	Session - 127th Maine Legislature		LR 1579 Item 1
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