For many, high school graduation is a key milestone not only in the life of the graduate, but also in the lives of his or her family members. Could you imagine being threatened with jail time for cheering for your loved one as she received her diploma? It sounds outrageous, but it is exactly what is happening to four people in Mississippi.
School Superintendent Jay Foster instructed attendees of the Senatobia High School graduation to hold their applause until the end of the program, but Lakaydra Walker’s family could not contain their joy. Her father, Henry Walker, shouted “You did it, baby,” drawing laughs from the crowd. But Superintendent Foster was not amused. Four members of Walker’s family were escorted out of the proceedings. (They had been warned.) A week later, they were served with warrants for their arrest after Foster pressed charges. Now the family has to appear in court for “disturbing the peace.”
While it is unclear what particular law the Walkers are alleged to have broken, it is likely Mississippi Code § 97-35-9, which reads:
A person who wilfully disturbs the peace of any family or person by an explosion of gunpowder or other explosive substance, or by loud or unusual noise, or by any tumultuous or offensive conduct, shall be punished by fine or imprisonment, or both; the fine not to exceed one hundred dollars, and the imprisonment not to exceed six months in the county jail.
Walker told Memphis News Channel WREG, “It’s crazy. The fact that I might have to bond out of jail, pay court costs, or a $500 fine for expressing my love, it’s ridiculous man. It’s ridiculous.” While the maximum penalty appears to be $100, Walker does indeed face a possible $500 bond (the alternative being to spend time in jail). Regardless, Henry Walker is exactly right that this situation is “ridiculous.”
Superintendent Foster defended his absurd decision to file criminal charges because he was determined to have order at the ceremony. Nobody, not even Henry Walker, questions the school’s right to throw him out of the graduation; after all, he broke the rules. But to enforce those rules with criminal penalties? That is patently absurd.
The Walker family is yet another victim of overcriminalization, the startling trend of using the criminal law to solve every problem, punish simple mistakes, and to force compliance with regulations.
Threatening jail time for actions no reasonable person would ever believe are crimes seems to be a common occurrence for some government bureaucrats:
- In Blanchester, Ohio, Jeffery Williamson was arrested in front of his family for child endangerment because his son skipped church. Williamson’s son, Justin, left home to board a church van, but decided to play in the neighborhood instead. When police found Justin at a local Family Dollar store they took him home, and then arrested his father.
- In Summerville, South Carolina, a police officer arrested a 16-year-old student who made a “threatening” comment. The comment? Saying he killed his neighbor’s pet dinosaur.
- In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, sharing your food with the hungry can come with a 60-day jail stay and a $500 fine. 90-year-old pastor and World War II veteran Arnold Abbott found that out firsthand after he was charged with violating a city ordinance for handing out food through the nonprofit charity he runs.
The charges against Walker’s family were dropped on June 8.
