Tennessee woman gets jail time for not maintaining yard

Can't keep up with your yard work? That could land you in jail.

At least that's what happened Karen Holloway, who was sentenced to six hours in a Tennessee jail for not maintaining her lawn. Holloway told Knoxville's WVLT that she was cited by Lenoir City code enforcers for "not keeping up her yard." Apparently, city officials sent Holloway a citation over the summer, and Holloway admits that she was too busy to keep her yard from becoming overgrown. But she still thinks that Lenoir City went "too far" by sentencing her to jail time, WVLT reports.

"[The bushes and trees] were overgrown. But that's certainly not a criminal offense," she told WVLT. "Why would you put me in jail with child molesters, and people who've done real crimes, because I haven't maintained my yard?"

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

At last week's hearing, Judge Terry Vann gave Holloway a five-day jail sentence, but it was amended to six hours on Tuesday when she made a final appeal. Holloway turned herself in at the jail on Tuesday. Next month, Vann will hold a follow-up hearing for Holloway's case — and if Lenoir City isn't "satisfied with the cleanup" of her yard, Holloway could be subject to more jail time.